How the fertility of males and females is affected by stress, lifestyle and pharmaceutical agents
Abstract
Background: Infertility in men is the most discussed issue among couples. It is generally believed that about half of infertility in couples is due to the men side, mainly due to frustrations in the process of spermatogenesis. Currently it has been found that lifestyle modifications are vital to improve infertility and interest in this area has increased. Examples include maturation, mental stress, diet, active work, high temperature of scrotum, hot water, caffeine, and mobile phone use. This review will examine the effects of personal satisfaction (a modifiable lifestyle factor) and mental stress on infertility in male. It will also show the effects of high scrotal temperature and unhealthy views of exercise on infertility in male. Materials and Methods: Forty of the 118 (34%) men patients who underwent IVF agreed to participate in this review. Only patients having IVF for the first time were recalled for re-examination to reduce the adjustments to the sperms sample screening process that would occur in men with some experience of IVF. Of these, 31 completed the retest and eight decided not to proceed after the initial testing period; one patient's cycle was cancelled prior to ovulation. Conclusion: Our study found that IVF patients had significantly lower sperm quality when they collected their eggs, which suggests a link between sperm quality and psychological stress. Whether physical (frozen reserve sperm samples) or psychological (evacuation preparation, targeted morphology, treatment groups) interventions are effective in reducing stress in male IVF patients and controlling stress-related changes in sperm quality is still unknown. Further studies are awaited to light some further developments.