Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption Impairment of Sperm Morphology: its Relationship with Seminal Oxidative Stress and Socio–Demographic Characteristics
Teratozoospermia is one of the most important factors contributing to male infertility. To provide some evidence for its pathogenesis, we aimed to investigate the link between smoking and alcohol consumption, oxidative stress markers, and morphological spermatic characteristics in infertile men with isolated teratozoospermia. The semen samples were obtained from 60 male partners with isolated teratozoospermia. These subjects were categorized based on self-reported history of smoking and alcohol consumption: (non-smokers, n=31; smokers, n=29) and (non-drinkers, n=32; drinkers, n=28). The ability of spermatozoa to produce superoxide anion (O2.) was assessed with the Nitro Blue Tetrazolium (NBT) staining test. Seminal antioxidant enzymes activities including Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) were measured spectrophotometrically. The conventional sperm parameters and the detailed morphological characteristics were found to be significantly different in the different study groups. Seminal leukocytes concentration, irregular head, microcephalic head, double head, mid-piece abnormalities, and the presence of cytoplasmic excess were significantly higher in smoking patients with teratozoospermia when compared to non-smokers teratozoospermic patients (p<0.05). On the other hand, alcoholic teratozoospermic patients showed significantly higher rates of irregular head, macrocephalic head, microcephalic head, mid-piece abnormalities, and the presence of cytoplasmic excess when compared to non-drinkers (p<0.05). Besides, the levels of the studied antioxidant enzymes were reduced and sperm ROS production was higher among alcohol/tobacco consumers with teratozoospermia, though the changes were not significant (p>0.05). These findings indicated that tobacco and alcohol abuse might act as lifestyle risk factors for the increase in morphological abnormalities of spermatozoa and seminal oxidative stress damage.
