According to a study released with BMJ Open, the more alcohol young men consume, the lower their sperm count and quality will be.
The study involved 1,221 Danish men between the ages of 18 and 28 who filled out questionnaires about their drinking habits and they provided a semen sample, as well as had their blood drawn. The researchers found that a-overall sperm concentration, b-total sperm count, and c-percentage of normal sperm, in men having five units of alcohol a week or more, were all poorer.
The quantity of testosterone measured in men’s blood, increased as their alcohol intake increased. The drop in sperm count and quality became particularly significant among men consuming at least 25 units of alcohol a week. Individuals drinking 40 or more drinks a week had a 33 percent lower sperm concentration than those consuming one to five units a week.
Many men who are quiet drinkers don’t realize that this may affect them, as they drink a lot more than they admit to.
Αt the same time, high alcohol consumption seemed to be associated with a greater risk of contracting human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a study published in Sexually Transmitted Infections.
A second study included 1,313 American men. The researchers found that those who drank more than 10 grams of alcohol a day, were 13 percent more likely to have any HPV type and 35 percent more likely to have a cancer-related HPV type, compared to men drinking less than 0.1 gram per day.
Even after the researchers took into account the number of sex partners men had and whether they smoked — another risk factor for HPV-associated cancers — the study still found an link between alcohol consumption and HPV infection.