Controversial Effects of Alcohol on Sperm Quality and Male Fertility

04 Aug Controversial Effects of Alcohol on Sperm Quality and Male Fertility

Two prominent studies highlight the direct effects of alcohol on reproductive hormones and sperm quality.

These studies published in the JAMA Pediatrics and BMJ Open put forward an important link between paternal alcohol use and fetal development.

Noting down the key findings, we find that these studies with two different aims, come up with the same result – alcohol and sperm DNA don’t go well together!

On exploring the deeper parts of the study, more facts came to light regarding how does alcohol really affect sperm, which are highlighted in the forthcoming sections.

Alcohol Does Affect Sperm and is Related to Birth Defects

The following two studies exhibit a clear connection between alcoholism in fathers, poor sperm quality, and the increased risk of birth defects.

Study I

The study that was published under the JAMA Paediatrics on April 19 establishes an evident link between paternal alcohol consumption before conception and birth anomalies.

Aim of the Study:

This study was conducted to explore the depths of paternal alcohol exposure and its risks for child abnormalities.

It further aims at deriving results to provide evidence for supporting the cessation of paternal drinking in preconception health care.

Participants

529,090 couples who were planning a pregnancy in the coming 6 months were selected for the study.

Out of these couples, 364,939 fathers have had no alcohol exposure before conception (not even once a week) while 164,151 had exposure.

Results:

The results were concluded after observing the baby post 42 days of birth.

Out of all the participation, 609 babies were found to have abnormal health with defects. 

The birth abnormalities reported were:

• Congenital heart disease
• Limb anomalies
• Clefts
• Digestive tracts anomalies
• Gastroschisis
• Neural tube defects

On comparing the results, it was found that pregnancies where paternal drinking before conception was prominent, 363 abnormal babies were reported.

While those couples where the father didn’t have any prominent exposure to alcohol in preconception care showed 246 abnormal deliveries.

Concluded Results:

• Babies had 35% higher chances of birth defects if paternal drinking was even as low as once a week for 6 months.
• If the paternal drinking was regular for 6 months, the chances of the baby developing clefts went to as high as 55%.

According to experts, these results are primarily because of the alcohol’s damaging effects on the sperm.

Though the study does not give any direct link, it does raise questions over how does alcohol affect sperm when trying to get pregnant.

But the second study rather cements the observations.

Study II

This study published in the BMJ open suggests that even weekly alcohol consumption by the father affects your sperm quality.

Aim of the Study:

The study was aimed at studying the three measures of alcohol and their effect on semen quality and other reproductive hormones.

The three measures explored were:

• Recent exposure
• Habitual exposure
• Binging exposure

Participants:

1,221 young Danish men aging 18 to 28 were selected for the study after going to strict medical examinations.

Their alcohol exposures were further recorded as:

• Alcohol exposure in the week preceding the study – Recent exposure.
• Exposure in a typical week – Habitual exposure.
• Estimation of alcohol exposure in the past 30 days considering if it was binge drinking (5 units a day) – Binging exposure.

Results:

The study explored the results of the alcohol intake on:

• Sperm quality – motility, count, volume, and morphology.
• The serum concentration of reproductive hormones – FSH, LH, testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, oestradiol, and free testosterone.

On noting down the observations, it was found that:

• Men who had a habit of drinking 5 units of alcohol in a typical week showed negative results on sperm quality.
• This negative effect was more prominent among men who had 25 units of alcohol a week.
• Men who took 40 units in a typical week showed a 33% decrease in sperm quality as compared to men who took 1 to 5 units of alcohol in a week.
• Binge drinking alcohol had no such free connections with semen quality.

All these results clearly point out how can alcohol cause infertility in a man as a result of poor semen quality and motility.

Let us now find out more about how much does alcohol affect sperm and can it actually affect your manhood?

How Does Alcohol Affect Fertility in Males?

Heavy drinking has been associated with infertility in both men and women.

However, the tendency goes higher in men as alcohol can have negative effects on male sexual function due to:

• Reduced sex drive
• Poor sperm quality
• Compromised sexual performance

And all of this gradually can lead to impotence.

However, the primary root of all infertility issues among men comes from poor sperm quality and quantity!

Hence, it’s important to understand how does drinking affect sperm.

How Alcohol Affects Sperm?

Heavy drinking usually affects sperm growth and development by impacting testes and hormones.

Alcohol abuse affects sperm by:

• Lowering down the testosterone levels, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormones while also raising the estrogen levels, which altogether lower the sperm count.
• Chronic alcohol can shrink the testes leading to less sperm production, ultimately leading to infertility.
• Effects on the gonadotropin’s secretion impact sperm production indirectly.
• Early ejaculation or delayed ejaculation affects the volume of sperm leading to fewer chances of pregnancy.
• It can change the shape and size of the sperm while also affecting motility.

With the change in shape and size of sperm, the quality weakens, and it can get killed while traveling through the female cervix.

Now that this answers the concern about how does alcohol affects sperm count, there have also been claims of moderate drinking proving to be useful for sperm and fertility.

To some extent, it’s true, moderate drinking can contribute to increases in testosterone, better sperm health, and better sexual performance.

But then, how much alcohol can affect sperm and how much is safe to drink comes out to be an important concern.

How Much Alcohol Affects Sperm?

We already know how does alcohol affect male fertility and sperm quality!

However, whether it will be a moderate increase in sexual function or a drastic decrease in sexual function, it totally depends on how much alcohol you consume.

Any alcoholic drink can harm your fertility when taken in excess.

Hence, an important matter of concern is how much alcohol is considered too much?

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Heavy drinking is consuming more than 15 units of alcohol in a week.
• Moderate drinking ranges below 14 drinks in a week, and that would be around 2 drinks in a day.

Another pattern of drinking getting popular these days is binge drinking.

Binge drinking is a modified version of the moderate drinking pattern. But rather than taking it slow with 2 drinks a day, it follows a pattern where you drink 5 to 8 units within 2 to 3 hours on an occasion.

And then you don’t drink for the rest of the week or the next few days.

Out of all these patterns, the best pattern to follow if you don’t want your sperm and fertility to crash down is the moderate drinking pattern.

You can even follow the binge pattern only if you can take it slow.

However, if the harm has already been done, then we suggest you not go for any alcoholic drinks even on a moderate basis.

This is primarily because your reproductive health needs time to overcome the stress caused by alcohol.

So, how long after quitting drinking will sperm improve? 

The answers could be varying but not entirely different.

How Long Does Alcohol Affect Sperm?

The more alcohol you drink in a day, the more compromised your sperm will be.

Although stopping heavy drinking can be a good influence on your reproductive health and improving fertility, that again depends on your drinking pattern.

For moderate drinkers, the time taken for your reproductive system to go back to normal is less compared to chronic drinkers.

In fact, according to a study, a clear improvement in semen can be seen within 90 days of stopping alcohol abuse.

Coupled with the right diet and exercises, your sperm motility and deformed morphology too can return to normal.

Diet highly influences sperm motility, and sperms are even sensitive to nutrient flux showing quick responses. 

Overall Outlook

Studies published in JAMA Paediatrics and BMJ Open highlight the need of preventing parental drinking in preconception health care.

The studies reported related results where the major highlight was how does alcohol affects sperm when trying to get pregnant.

While the study published in JAMA Paediatrics was all about how parental exposure to alcohol leads to birth anomalies like babies born with clefts, BMJ Open observations were inclined towards the abnormal sperm production in chronic drinkers.

Both the studies, with different aims, establish the same link between alcohol and pregnancy.

FAQs

This segment answers some of the most-asked questions by our readers.

 #1. Sperm vs Semen | Is sperm and semen the same thing?

Semen is the nutritional carrier of sperm. It is the seminal fluid-carrying sperm with other plasma liquids.

Moreover, it appears to be white, yellow, or slight grey in color and has viscous inconsistency.

Semen is primarily responsible for the transmission of motile sperm cells into the uterus of women, whereas sperm is the functional unit of the male reproductive system and is a cell not a fluid present in the semen.

#2. Can a man drink alcohol when trying to conceive?

Can a man drink beer when trying to conceive? Well, this concerns fetal alcohol syndrome. 

Not just beer but all alcoholic drinks have been associated with the mothers being scared of the syndrome passing down to their babies.

Though there haven’t been many possible signs on whether a man drinking when trying to conceive can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, it does reduce the chances of pregnancy.

Further, it also leads to a threat of your child having future problems like weak immunity or abnormal health disorders.

Hence, it’s ideal to consult a doctor before continuing drinking when trying to conceive.

#3. How long does alcohol stay in your sperm?

The more alcohol a man drinks, the more chances there are of the sperm becoming abnormal. Ideally, it has been found that it takes 90 days after stopping drinking.

But the duration totally depends on drinking patterns, environmental factors, and lifestyle.

#4. Is it bad to conceive while drunk?

Yes, alcohol harms conception and implantation while also increasing the chances of early pregnancy loss.

There could be many reasons for this. Men drinking leads to slow sperm motility while for women it can cause changes in ovulation and other cycle changes.

#5. Does alcohol affect egg quality?

Low alcoholism has little or absolutely no effect on the menstrual cycle and egg quality.

But there have been noted many changes in the egg quality among chronic drinkers primarily because of:

• Changes in ovulation pattern
• Cycle regulation
• Ovarian reserve

#6. Is wine good for fertility? 

As per researchers, women who drink wine achieve their planned pregnancies faster than other women. 

However, excess of any alcoholic drink can lead to negative effects; hence, it is advisable to stay under limits when drinking wine.

#7. Is red wine good for male fertility? 

It has been found that men who drink moderately, which is about four to seven times a week, showed higher sperm counts and motility.

Hence, wine could be a good way to boost fertility when taken in moderation.

STUDY JOURNAL REFERENCES:

Association of Preconception Paternal Alcohol Consumption With Increased Fetal Birth Defect Risk: JAMA

Habitual alcohol consumption associated with reduced semen quality and changes in reproductive hormones: BMJ Open