Healthier sperm linked to longer life expectancy, study suggests

Men with the best quality sperm live two to three years longer than those with the lowest quality, according to a study.

Testing semen in this way could one day be used to predict and prevent future health problems, researchers suggest.

For the study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, academics analysed data from 78,284 men in Denmark between 1965 and 2015.

The men had their semen quality assessed during the period due to reported couple infertility.

It was found that those with a higher total motile count (TMC) – or sperm that can move or swim – could expect to live longer.

Dr Larke Priskorn, a senior researcher in the department of growth and reproduction at Copenhagen University Hospital, said: “Previous research has suggested that male infertility and lower semen quality could be associated with mortality.

“We conducted this study to test the hypothesis and at the same time get an absolute estimate of how much semen quality predicts a man’s lifespan and to understand whether diagnosed diseases prior to semen quality assessment might explain some of the reported association.

“We calculated the men’s life expectancy according to their semen quality and found that men with the best quality could expect to live two to three years longer, on average, than men with the lowest semen quality.”

Men with a TMC of more than 120 million – which is considered healthy – lived 2.7 years longer than men with a TMC of between zero and five million.

“The lower the semen quality, the lower the life expectancy,” Dr Priskorn added.

“This association was not explained by any diseases in the 10 years before semen quality assessment or the men’s educational level.”

Researchers suggest assessing fertility, which is usually done when men are relatively young, could be an opportunity for detecting the risk of other health problems.

Dr Niels Jorgensen, chief andrologist at the department of growth and reproduction at Copenhagen University Hospital, said: “We need to better understand the association between semen quality and men’s general health.

“However, this study suggests that we can identify subgroups of men with impaired semen quality who are apparently healthy when their semen quality is assessed, but who are at increased risk of developing certain diseases later in life.

“Thus, fertility evaluations, which are typically conducted when the men are relatively young, would serve as an opportunity for detecting and mitigating the risks of other health problems in the longer term.”

During the follow-up period, 8,600 men died, the equivalent of 11% of the total group.

Some 59,657 men provided semen samples between 1987 and 2015, with more information on their education level and diagnoses of medical conditions in the 10 years prior available.

Researchers said future studies “should focus on disease trajectories according to semen quality, as well as early biomarkers that could be relevant disease markers in infertile men”.

Dr Jorgensen added: “In the current study, we did not analyse whether poor semen quality was associated with earlier deaths from particular causes, such as cancer or heart disease, and this is something we will be studying in the future.

“Using other groups of men, we will also try to identify relevant biomarkers that can identify subgroups of men at increased risk. This is key to initiating relevant prevention strategies.”