For men with low sperm counts, sexual abstinence -- but
only for a day -- increases semen quality. More prolonged
sexual abstinence may actually reduce sperm numbers, a new
study indicates.
"After only two days of abstinence, sperm from patients
with male factor infertility initiate a process of quality
degradation," Dr. Eliahu Levitas of Soroka University Medical
Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel,
and colleagues report.
The findings are important for men trying to father children
through in vitro fertilization, or even through the natural
method.
Levitas and his team note in the medical journal Fertility
and Sterility and Sterility that most fertility clinics
likely follow World Health Organization
recommendations, which advise men to abstain for 2 to 7
days before semen collection for fertility evaluation. The
researchers conducted the current study to determine the
effect of abstinence on sperm quality.
The researchers analyzed 9489 semen samples from 6008 men,
comparing the concentration of sperm, percentage of normal
sperm, percentage of motile sperm, and volume of semen,
to the duration of abstinence before sperm collection.
Among the 3506 samples classified as being low sperm counts,
peak sperm concentration occurred after 1 day of abstinence
and declined thereafter.
Peak sperm motility also was seen after 1 day of abstinence,
followed by a gradual decline.
The percentage of normal sperm also peaked at 1 to 2 days
of abstinence for low-count men.
Samples with normal sperm counts showed a slight decline
in sperm concentration during 2 days of abstinence, followed
by a gradual increase to a peak on days 6 and 7. Sperm motility
increased after 1 day of abstinence, and remained high through
day 7.
Levitas and colleagues conclude that semen should be collected
from men with male factor infertility after 1 day of abstinence,
for optimum sperm quality.
Seven days of abstinence will improve sperm quality among
men with normal semen, the researchers add, but abstinence
beyond 10 days is not recommended.
SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, June 2005.
