Fertility experts have advised men to stop wearing tight-fitting underwear, warning that it could reduce sperm quality and affect fertility.
The experts said tight boxers could raise the temperature around the testicle region and affect the production of sperm.
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service says low sperm count, also called oligozoospermia, is when a man has fewer than 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen.
The World Health Organisation in a report revealed that around 17.5 per cent of the adult population, which is roughly one in six worldwide, experience infertility.
The global health body’s report shows limited variation in the prevalence of infertility between regions.
The fertility specialists who spoke exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise gave insight into the importance of early diagnosis for poor sperm quality, stressing that it could help patients get early treatment.
A Consultant Gynaecologist at Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, Dr Anas Funtua, pointed out that temperature affects sperm storage and that any distortion may lead to a reduction in its quality.
Funtua noted that sperm quality was similar to living cells and was determined by a variety of factors in addition to their quantity.
He further said qualitative and quantitative analysis was needed before sperm could be considered complete or viable.
He said, “Genetic factors may lead to less qualitative sperm. Certain temperatures also affect their storage. In this regard, if anything distorts their temperature, their quality will be reduced.
“Similarly, their distribution, which may be an antibody or the channel where they follow, can lead to abnormal sperm quality or quantity, or even both.
“For those with genetic problems, there’s only little that can be done to improve the quality of their sperm. However, they have other options such as the sperm being harvested and joined with an egg to form babies. God deliberately put the testicles outside to avoid so much temperature.
“It is necessary to take care of the testicles. Such things as wearing tight boxers and putting laptops on the laps increases the temperature of the testicles. Smoking, alcohol intake, and taking illicit drugs affect sperm quality & quantity. Viral infections and the use of some drugs without a doctor’s prescription also affect sperm quality and quantity.”
Also speaking, a Consultant Urologist at Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Dr Emma Oyibo, said that poor semen quality was based on a set of parameters agreed upon by a consensus of practitioners with the most reliable being the WHO Manual of Seminal Analysis.
Oyibo said the parameters include semen volume, total sperm number, total motility, vitality, and normal forms.
He, however, stressed that sperm was considered to be low when it failed to meet up with the WHO’s parameters.
“The things that could predispose a man to low sperm quality are congenital (during development) and acquired (after birth).
“Congenital include cryptorchidism (undescended testis), testicular dysgenesis, and congenital absence of the vas deferens, which is one of the main causes of obstructive azoospermia, responsible for numerous cases of male infertility. The acquired are urogenital infections and varicocele.
“Others are endocrine; genetics, immunology, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, irradiation, obesity, smoking, drugs, and lastly some have no known reasons (Idiopathic).”
Oyibo said that it was possible for a man with a low sperm quality to still be fertile and get a woman pregnant.
“It depends on the level of the quality of the parameters, the extent of the damage, and if the spouse is considered normal, then it can be either natural or assisted reproduction.
“Some are treated while some present late when not much can be done. The treatment is based on the incriminating factor and the associated hormonal balance. Some are surgically corrected while others may need assisted reproduction,” he explained.
A study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health offers one of the most comprehensive examinations to date into this long-running debate.
The researchers found that men who wear boxers do indeed have better sperm counts and healthier reproductive hormone levels than their tight underwear counterparts.
The research recruited 656 men, taking both sperm and blood samples alongside a self-reported questionnaire covering underwear choice, physical activity frequency, and other contributing factors, such as whether they regularly take hot baths.
The results’ statistically significant findings showed that men who primarily wear boxers displayed 25 per cent higher sperm concentration and 17 per cent higher total sperm count.
The research also examined the men’s blood samples for levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Interestingly, men wearing tighter underwear and displaying lower sperm counts were found to have higher levels of FSH in their blood.
“This particular hormone is known to be produced in the brain to stimulate sperm production and the researchers suggest that increased FSH levels are a sign that the body is trying to compensate for decreased sperm counts,” the researchers stated.
*The Punch
