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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on December 1, 2008
Human Reproduction 2009 24(2):459-469; doi:10.1093/humrep/den399
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Semen quality of 1346 healthy men, results from the Chongqing area of southwest China

Yafei Li1, Hui Lin1, Mingfu Ma3, Lianbing Li3, Min Cai3, Niya Zhou2, Xue Han2, Huaqiong Bao3, Liping Huang4, Caizhong Zhu1, Chuanhai Li3, Hao Yang3, Zhonglin Rao1, Ying Xiang1, Zhihong Cui2, Lin Ao2, Ziyuan Zhou2, Hongyan Xiong1 and Jia Cao2,5

1 Department of Epidemiology, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, People's Republic of China 2 Department of Hygienic Toxicology, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, People's Republic of China 3 Chongqing Institute of Science and Technology for Population and Family Planning, Chongqing 400020, People's Republic of China 4 Chongqing Shapingba Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing 400038, People's Republic of China

5 Correspondence address. Tel: +86-023-68752271; Fax: +86-023-68752276; E-mail: caojia{at}mail.tmmu.com.cn/caojia1962{at}126.com

BACKGROUND: Large studies on semen quality of the general healthy population from China are rare.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the semen quality of 1346 healthy men residing in Chongqing area of southwest China in 2007. The semen parameters were measured and compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. A linear regression model was used to examine the determinants of semen quality.

RESULTS: The medians were 2.3 ml for semen volume, 77.8 x 106 per ml for semen concentration, 167.7 x 106 for total sperm count, 33% for sperm rapid progressive motility, 52.6% for sperm progressive motility and 70.9% for total motility. According to WHO criteria, 61.1% of healthy males had at least one semen parameter below normal threshold values. Season and abstinence duration were found to be significantly associated with semen quality (P < 0.001). Age, smoking, alcohol use and BMI had little or no effect on semen parameters.

CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of healthy males in Chongqing area of southwest China had abnormal semen parameters values according to WHO criteria. The semen parameters in the study population were markedly different from those reported for the other Chinese, USA and European populations. The differences remain unexplained and may be due to demographic characteristics, lifestyle, environmental factors or genetic variation.

Key words: semen quality/semen parameters/healthy men/Chinese/risk factor

Submitted on August 28, 2008; resubmitted on October 7, 2008; accepted on October 13, 2008.


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