Effects of work and life stress on semen quality.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate associations between work-related stress, stressful life events, and perceived stress and semen quality.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis.

SETTING

Northern California.

PATIENT(S): 193 men from the Child Health and Development Studies evaluated between 2005-2008.

INTERVENTION(S): None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Measures of stress including job strain, perceived stress, and stressful life events; outcome measures of sperm concentration, percentage of motile sperm, and percentage of morphologically normal sperm.

RESULT(S): We found an inverse association between perceived stress score and sperm concentration (estimated coefficient b=-0.09×10(3)/mL; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.18, -0.01), motility (b=-0.39; 95% CI=-0.79, 0.01), and morphology (b=-0.14; 95% CI, -0.25, -0.04) in covariate-adjusted linear regression analyses. Men who experienced two or more stressful life events in the past year compared with no stressful events had a lower percentage of motile sperm (b=-8.22; 95% CI, -14.31, -2.13) and a lower percentage of morphologically normal sperm (b=-1.66; 95% CI, -3.35, 0.03) but a similar sperm concentration. Job strain was not associated with semen parameters.

CONCLUSION(S): In this first study to examine all three domains of stress, perceived stress and stressful life events but not work-related stress were associated with semen quality.