The Impact of Life Stresses on Semen Quality

Author(s):

A recently published study found that certain types of stress affect the quality and quantity of men's sperm. The senior author of that study addresses the topic and provides take-away points for psychiatrists in this brief podcast.

Stress-certain types of stress, that is-have been found to affect the quality and quanity of men's sperm.

That’s the key finding in a recently published study in the journal Fertility and Sterility.¹

We’ve invited the senior author of that study, Dr Pam Factor-Litvak to talk briefly about what she and her colleagues found in their investigation of 193 men. In this brief podcast, Dr Factor-Litvak addresses the following questions:

•What kinds of stress were associated with impaired semen quality? With quantity?

•What effect, if any, did job strain have on the men in your study?

•What effect, if any, did life strain have on the men in your study?

•By what mechanism is stress believed to influence semen production?

•What are the take-away points for psychiatrists?

Dr Factor-Litvak is Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center and Associate Dean for Research Resources at the Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University in New York City.

References:

1. Janevic T, Kahn L, Landsbergis P, et al. Effects of work and life stress on semen quality. Fertility and Sterility. 2014;102:530-538. http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(14)00381-1/abstract. Accessed September 3, 2014.