Effect of chronic alcoholism on male fertility hormones and semen quality

doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.04.025

Fertility and Sterility

Volume 84, Issue 4, October 2005, Pages 919-924

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.04.025 Get rights and content

Objective

To evaluate the effects of chronic alcoholism on the male fertility hormones and quality of semen.

Design

Non-probability purposive clinical study.

Setting

Addiction treatment center and an academic research environment.

Patient(s)

Sixty-six alcoholics free from smoking and drug abuse who consumed a minimum of 180 mL of alcohol per day (brandy and whisky, both 40%–50% alcohol content) for a minimum of 5 days per week for ≥1 year were included. Thirty nonsmoking nonalcoholics were selected as controls.

Intervention(s)

Before starting the addiction treatment for alcoholics, venous blood and semen samples were collected.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Complete blood counts, biochemical parameters, levels of the male fertility hormones FSH, LH, T, PRL, P, and E₂ in blood, and semen parameters.

Result(s)

In alcoholics, FSH, LH, and E₂ levels were significantly increased, and T and P levels were significantly decreased. No significant change was noted in PRL levels. Semen volume, sperm count, motility, and number of morphologically normal sperm were significantly decreased.

Conclusion(s)

Chronic alcohol consumption has a detrimental effect on male reproductive hormones and on semen quality.

Section snippets

Subjects

This study was conducted at the Kasthuriba Gandhi Memorial Deaddiction Center in Coimbatore city, Tamil Nadu, India. We screened a total of 1,300 alcoholics who had reported to the Kasthuriba Gandhi Memorial Deaddiction Center and 300 nonalcoholic nonsmoking volunteers (as controls) from Coimbatore city. The study population consisted of 66 nonsmoking alcoholics, aged 36.6 ± 5.7 years (mean ± SD). Alcoholics consuming drugs like diazepam, pethidine, cannabis, and marijuana along with alcohol

Results

For alcoholics, the mean number of days of alcohol consumption per week was 6.1 ± 1.1, for a mean period of 4.5 ± 2.9 consecutive years. The mean volume of alcohol consumption was 441.1 ± 323.9 mL/day.

No significant differences were found between alcoholics and controls for any of the routine biochemical parameters (blood glucose, creatinine, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total bilirubin,

Discussion

It is evident from the report of the physician and from the biochemical and hematologic analysis that all the alcoholics and controls in this study were free from diabetes mellitus, hypertension, renal failure, liver failure, anemia, malnutrition, and chronic infections.

Sexual disorders have been reported frequently in chronic alcoholics. The present study on decreased libido and erectile impotence is supported by the studies of Mulligan et al. (28), Rosen (29), and Gumus et al. (6), which

Conclusions

It is evident from the results of the present study that chronic alcoholism suppresses both blood hormonal levels and reduces semen quality. In Leydig cells, alcohol decreases the male sex hormone T. Furthermore, it decreases P and increases E₂ levels in blood. Because of the suppression of blood levels of T in alcoholics, the pituitary feedback regulation is altered. The pituitary LH is increased in blood as a compensatory mechanism. At the seminiferous tubular level, alcohol decreases semen

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Drs. Nalla G. Palaniswami and Thavamani Devi Palaniswami, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Kovai Medical Center (Coimbatore, India) for providing facilities for this study; Dr. D. Srinivasan for his help in recruiting participants from the Kasthuriba Gandhi Deaddiction Center (Coimbatore, India); Mr. Ananthan, psychologist at the Kasthuriba Gandhi Deaddiction Center, for his enthusiastic support and guidance; Mrs. R. Kavitha, biochemist, Mr. Badhuru Belli and Mrs. R.

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Male factorEffect of chronic alcoholism on male fertility hormones and semen quality

Objective

Design

Setting

Patient(s)

Intervention(s)

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Result(s)

Conclusion(s)

Section snippets

Subjects

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Pharmacol Biochem Behav

Biochem Pharmcol

Fertil Steril

Psychiatry Res

Alcohol

Drug Alcohol Depend

J Steroid Biochem

Biochem Biophys Res Commun

J Steroid Biochem

Effect of ethanol on the male hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis

Endocr Rev

Chronic alcoholism and male sexual dysfunction

J Sex Marital Ther

Alcohol induced sexual impotence

Am J Psychiatry

Sexual adjustment of male alcoholics

Acta Psychiatr Scand

Sexual function and dysfunction in younger married alcoholics

Acta Psychiatr Scand

Effect of long-term alcohol abuse on male sexual function and serum gonadal hormone levels

Int Urol Nephrol

Ethanol and hypogonadism

Alcohol Alcohol

Clinically important effects of alcohol on endocrine function. Clinical review 33

J Clin Endcrinol Metab

Infertilitythe dimension of the problem

Effects of acute alcohol intake on pituitary-gonadal hormones in normal human males

J Pharmacol Exp Ther

Hormonal changes in noncirrhotic male alcoholics during ethanol withdrawal

Alcohol Alcohol

Inhibition of testosterone biosynthesis by ethanol

Biochem J

Ethanol-induced male reproductive tract pathology as a function of ethanol dose and duration of exposure

J Pharmacol Exp Ther

Alcohol effects on luteinizing hormone and testosterone in male macaque monkeys

J Pharmacol Exp Ther

Male factor
Effect of chronic alcoholism on male fertility hormones and semen quality