Study of the effect of smoking on sperm count in male infertility

Abstract

Cigarette smoking, one of the main causes of preventable morbidity and mortality, has a multitude of well-known side effects. Tobacco smoking is considered one of the major factors leading to male infertility. A lot is known now about the carcinogens in tobacco cigarette smoke and their resultant effects on organs like lungs and urinary bladder, but their effects on fertility status have been less documented. The present study was aimed at studying the effect of cigarette smoking on sperm count in infertile men. A total of one hundred infertile men (50 Nonsmokers and 50 Smokers) between the age group 20-45 years were taken into this study. The Sperm count in the infertile nonsmokers and the infertile smokers group were compared using Z Test. Infertile Smokers which were divided into Group A (≥1 and ≤10 cigarettes/ day), Group B (>10 and <20 cigarettes/ day) and Group C (≥20 cigarettes/ day) were analyzed for Sperm count levels by ANOVA Test. It was observed that the sperm count was significantly lower (p<0.01) in an infertile smokers group than the infertile nonsmokers group. It was also observed that the sperm count was significantly decreased (p<0.05) in relation to the quantity of cigarette smoking.