Did you know that cannabis can change the size and shape of sperm up to three months after having smoked it and, therefore, affect reproductive capacity ? This is what a group of researchers specialized in fertility have discovered. We tell you everything in this article.
Does the consumption of cannabis cause infertility?
In the largest study in the world to investigate how common lifestyle factors influence the size and shape of sperm, a team of researchers from the universities of Sheffield and Manchester has found that some factors of lifestyle common in the Men like smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol seem to have little effect on their fertility. However, the results obtained with respect to cannabis are very different.
The study, published in the medical journal Human Reproduction , recruited 2,249 men from 14 fertility clinics across the UK, and asked them to fill out detailed questionnaires about their medical history and lifestyle. They found that men who produce ejaculations with less than four percent normal sperm were almost twice as likely to have used cannabis in the three months before the sample ejaculated.
The study's lead author, Dr. Allan Pacey , a professor of Andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: "Our knowledge of the factors that influence sperm size and shape is very limited, however, they face A diagnosis of the bad morphology of many sperm men who are concerned about trying to identify the factors of their lifestyle that could be caused by this. " He added: "I know how reassuring it is to find that there are very few identifiable risks, although our data suggests that cannabis users should stop using the drug if they are planning to start a family."
Importance of healthy sperm
Previous research has suggested that only sperm with good morphology are able to pass into a woman's body after sex and make their way to the egg and fertilize it. Studies in the laboratory also suggest that sperm with poor morphology do not move well because their abnormal shape makes them less efficient.
Dr Andrew Povey , from the University of Manchester Population Health Institute, said: "This research is based on the study two years ago, which analyzed the risk factors associated with the number of sperm in motion (mobile concentrations ) in the ejaculates of men. " He added: "This previous study also found that there were relatively few risk factors that men can change in order to improve their fertility. Therefore, we have to conclude once again that there is little evidence that the delay in fertility treatment to make adjustments in a man's lifestyle will improve his chances of a conception. "
Although the study failed to find any association between sperm morphology and other lifestyle factors in common, such as smoking or alcohol consumption, it remains possible that they can correlate with other aspects of sperm that were not measured. , such as the quality of the DNA contained in the head of the sperm.