MODERATE ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION AND DISORDERS OF HUMAN SPERMATOGENESIS

Environmental factors are suspected to be responsible in part for the deterioration in semen quality observed worldwide during the recent fe w decades. Alcohol might be one factor, considering the frequent chang es in testicular function associated with heavy drinking. The dose-dep endent effects of alcohol on human spermatogenesis are, however, not w ell known. We analyzed spermatogenesis and testicular tissue morpholog y of 195 men, aged 35-69 years, with computer-assisted microscopy in t his autopsy study. The men were categorized into controls and four ''c onsumption groups'' according to the average daily alcohol consumption , which was determined on the basis of blind interviews with relatives and acquaintances. When the average daily alcohol consumption was 40 g or less, 59 (66%) of the 90 men showed normal spermatogenesis, where as 31 (34%) had partial spermatogenic arrest (SA). Of the 31 men with average daily intake between 40 and 80 g, 17 (54%) showed normal sperm atogenesis, 13 (42%) had partial or complete SA, and 1 man exhibited m ore severe testicular damage-''Sertoli cell only'' (SCO) syndrome. Amo ng men with daily intake between 80 and 160 g, only 13 of 35 men showe d normal spermatogenesis (37%), 19 (54%) had partial or complete SA (o dds ratio = 2.92), and 3 (9%) had the SCO syndrome (odds ratio = 16.85 ). The frequencies of spermatogenic disorders were similar in men drin king in excess of 160 g. Both SA and the SCO syndrome showed a clear d ependence on daily dose; p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0004, respectively. We c onclude that long-term average daily consumption of < 40 g of alcohol seems not to be associated with disorders of spermatogenesis. Consumpt ion of moderate amounts of alcohol may affect semen quality more often than previously thought, whereas high alcohol consumption may even be associated with serious disorders of spermatogenesis.