Introduction and Objectives
Men's increasing mean life expectancy accompanied by a trend towards higher paternal age and developments in assisted reproduction have raised interesting age-related aspects of male fertility. Several studies have recently indicated that lower urinary tract symptoms may potentially increase a risk of reduced fertility in men. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between semen quality and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in ageing male.
Material and Methods
A total of 210 men (aged 45–67) were investigated in this study. Clinical examination included body composition, prostate screening, genital pathologies and testicular size measured by orchidometer. All subjects filled out the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) and Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) questionnaires for lower urinary tract and prostatitis-like symptoms. Blood samples were collected for hormonal, biochemical and organ-specific markers. All men were measured for total prostate volume (TPV) by transrectal ultrasonography and for urinary flow rates by uroflowmetry.
Results
The sperm concentration (median 84×106 per milliliter for all investigated men) showed a negative correlation with total prostate volume (r = −0.233, p = 0.00292). The motility of spermatozoa showed a negative correlation with IPPS (r = −0.181, p = 0.0211), NIH-CPSI pain score (r = −0.153, p = 0.0489) and us-CRP level in serum (r = −0.252, p = 0.00126). The volume of ejaculate showed a negative correlation with WBC counts in semen (r = −0.243, p = 0.00182), with PSA (r = −0.197, p = 0.012) and us-CRP level in serum (r = −0.176, p = 0.0251). Testicular size showed a positive correlation with sperm concentration (r = 0.251, p = 0.00126) and sperm motility rates (r = 0.169, p = 0.0317).
Conclusions
Our preliminary results suggest that semen pathologies and reduced fertility rates may be associated with LUTS and prostate diseases in ageing male. However, the future research should directly define the relationships between semen quality and LUTS as well as examine the treatment effect of LUTS to fertility rates in ageing male.
Article info
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
