Study on effect of cigarette smoking on sperm count and seminal malondialdehyde levels of infertile men

The highest prevalence of smoking is observed in young adult males during their reproductive period. Smoking has been suggested to contribute to a number of diseases including male infertility. Although much is known now about the carcinogens in tobacco cigarette smoke and their resultant effects on organs like lungs and urinary bladder, their effects on fertility status have been less documented. The present study was aimed at studying the effect of cigarette smoking on sperm count and seminal MDA levels of infertile men. A total of one hundred infertile men (50 Nonsmokers and 50 Smokers) between the age group 20–45 years were taken into study. The Sperm count and seminal MDA levels 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 and MDA levels of ANOVA Test. We observed that the sperm count was significantly lower (p<0.01) and the seminal MDA levels were significantly higher (p<0.01) in an infertile Smokers group than the infertile Nonsmokers group. We also observed that the sperm count was significantly decreased (p<0.05) and the seminal MDA levels were significantly increased (p<0.05) in accordance with the severity of smoking.