Smoking May Harm Sperm, Male Fertility
Smoking May Harm Sperm, Male Fertility
Results Seen in Small Study Funded by Cigarette Company
The men's smoking habits and history seemed important to the researchers.
They calculated each smoker's smoking "load" by multiplying the number of daily cigarettes by the number of years as a smoker. The load varied widely, ranging from 16 to 750.
Eleven men had a high load (200 to 750). Only 18% of them passed the test.
In comparison, 71% of the seven smokers with a lower smoking load (16 to 180) passed the test, the study shows.
"The men who failed were smoking about twice as many cigarettes per day, an average of 19 per day, compared to the smokers who passed the [test]," says Burkman in the news release.
"Like other cells in the body, human sperm carry a receptor for nicotine, which means they recognize and respond to nicotine," Burkman explains.
In previous lab tests, the researchers had exposed sperm to nicotine. That "significantly altered" three important sperm functions, write the researchers.
The topic of nicotine's effects on sperm-fertilization function has been "controversial," write Burkman and colleagues.
Their study was funded by the Philip Morris Research Management Group.
Smoking May Harm Sperm, Male Fertility
Results Seen in Small Study Funded by Cigarette Company
Smokers' Habits Noted
The men's smoking habits and history seemed important to the researchers.
They calculated each smoker's smoking "load" by multiplying the number of daily cigarettes by the number of years as a smoker. The load varied widely, ranging from 16 to 750.
Eleven men had a high load (200 to 750). Only 18% of them passed the test.
In comparison, 71% of the seven smokers with a lower smoking load (16 to 180) passed the test, the study shows.
"The men who failed were smoking about twice as many cigarettes per day, an average of 19 per day, compared to the smokers who passed the [test]," says Burkman in the news release.
Smoking and Sperm
"Like other cells in the body, human sperm carry a receptor for nicotine, which means they recognize and respond to nicotine," Burkman explains.
In previous lab tests, the researchers had exposed sperm to nicotine. That "significantly altered" three important sperm functions, write the researchers.
The topic of nicotine's effects on sperm-fertilization function has been "controversial," write Burkman and colleagues.
Their study was funded by the Philip Morris Research Management Group.