According to a study released this October, alcohol has been found to lower sperm count and interfere with production of normally-formed and fully-mobile sperm. It has also been found to heighten risk of contracting an HPV infection.
In the study, over 1,200 young Danish men who answered basic questions about their drinking habits and turned in semen and blood samples found sperm negatively affected by higher alcohol consumption. The total count, concentration level, and percentage of properly shaped sperm all declined among those taking more than five alcoholic drinks per week. Those who drank heavily (25 or more drinks a week) were significantly impacted, and those who drank heaviest (40 or more a week) saw their sperm with a 33 percent lower concentration than those who stuck to five drinks or less.
Alcohol use, according to the study, also increases risk of HPV (human papilloma-virus), a noxious STD. The risk of HPV was 13 percent higher in heavy drinkers, while risk of cancerous HPV was 35 percent higher. Even when smoking and multiple partners were factored in since they can affect HPV risk as well, alcohol definitely still raised risk levels.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. and can be passed on between partners even when no symptoms yet show. Sometimes it can lead to genital warts or even cancer. Poor sperm number and quality often frustrates the attempts of couples to bear children. Both infertility and HPV are more likely to be suffered by the person drinking more than five servings of alcoholic beverage in a week.
Dr. Parviz Kavoussi, named Texas Rising Star Superdoctor by the Texas Monthly Magazine and editor of the very first textbook specifically on Clinical Urologic Endocrinology, tells us, “The less alcohol a man consumes, the better while he is seeking to have a child, and in light of this recent study, one would do well to keep it below five drinks per week.”
Dr. Parviz Kavoussi is certified by the American Board of Urology, has been involved in several cutting-edge research projects in the field of male reproductive capacity, and specializes in treating male infertility issues at Austin Fertility and Reproductive Medicine- the only Austin or central Texas clinic of its kind with physcians who are fellowship trained to handle both male and female fertility issues and safely and properly administer the best reproductive medicines. He and other doctors in his field agree with the conclusions of the recent study mentioned above.
To schedule a personal male infertility consultation with Dr. Kavoussi, contact Austin Fertility and Reproductive Medicine/Westlake IVF at (512) 444-1414.