Abstract
Research question
Is there an association between the use of sympathomimetics for asthmatic disease
and semen quality in humans?
Design
Between 2007 and 2012 a prospective cohort study was conducted among couples visiting
the preconception counselling clinic at a tertiary hospital in the Netherlands. The
study included 882 men of subfertile couples and information on medication use was
obtained from self-administered questionnaires. Moreover, data on semen parameters
were retrieved from medical records.
Results
The study population of men revealed a mean (± SD) age of 34 ± 4 years with a mean
body mass index (BMI) of 26.1 ± 2.3 kg/m2, and sympathomimetic use was reported by 3.6%. The use of sympathomimetics was positively
associated with a 10% higher sperm motility (beta 10.265; 95% confidence interval
[CI] 3.258–17.272) after adjustment for smoking, alcohol use, age, geographic background,
BMI, folic acid supplement use, the four astronomical seasons and asthma/bronchitis.
Subgroup analysis between men with total motile sperm count (TMSC) < or ≥10 million
showed that this association remained (P ≤ 0.001) after adjustment for these confounders. After adjustment for confounders
the sperm concentration was also positively associated with the use of sympathomimetics,
but only in men with TMSC ≥10 million (beta 0.300; 95% CI 0.032–0.568).
Conclusions
These preliminary data show the potential benefits of the use of sympathomimetics
to improve sperm motility in men of subfertile couples, which needs further investigation.
Keywords
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Biography
Eline Oostingh is a MD and PhD candidate of the Periconception Epidemiology Group as part of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She focuses on maternal and paternal periconception research and health intervention.Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 21, 2019
Accepted:
December 16,
2019
Received in revised form:
October 31,
2019
Received:
June 6,
2019
Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
