Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Heavy drinking may harm male hormones, sperm
Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 10/27/05 | Amy Norton - Reuters

Posted on 10/27/2005 11:37:16 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Problem drinking may dampen both a man's sex life and his chances of having children, according to a new study.

Researchers in India found that men being treated for alcoholism had lower testosterone levels and more sperm abnormalities than non-drinkers did. They also had a far higher rate of erectile dysfunction (ED) - 71 percent, versus 7 percent of abstainers.

Some past studies have suggested that heavy drinking can take a toll on men's reproductive health. One recent study found that couples had a higher miscarriage risk if the man had consumed 10 or more drinks a week around the time of conception.

Also, it's known that alcoholic men can develop signs of low testosterone, including shrunken testicles and enlarged breasts.

The new findings add to evidence that heavy drinking, at least among alcoholics, may harm both men's sex lives and their fertility, according to the study authors, led by Dr. K. R. Muthusami of Kovai Medical Center and Hospital in Coimbatore, India.

"Men are advised to refrain from chronic alcohol consumption if they want to procreate and lead a normal sex life," the researchers conclude in the medical journal Fertility & Sterility.

On the other hand, it's unlikely that light drinking would have any significant effect on men's fertility, Muthusami told Reuters Health.

The study included 66 non-smoking men who had sought treatment for alcoholism, along with 30 non-smokers who had never consumed alcohol. On average, alcoholic men had a significantly lower sperm count, but more abnormal sperm, as well as lower testosterone levels and changes in other reproductive hormones.

According to the researchers, these findings likely reflect direct damage to the testicles caused by excessive alcohol. Alcohol, Muthusami said, enters the testicles directly and can both cut testosterone production and harm the quality of semen.

But the potential harm is not limited to men. Other studies, the researcher noted, have found heavy drinking to impair women's reproductive health as well.

SOURCE: Fertility & Sterility, October 2005.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: aa; drinking; harm; heavy; hormones; male; sperm
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-79 last
To: BlueMondaySkipper

Which one?


61 posted on 10/27/2005 12:56:45 PM PDT by Dashing Dasher (I DRIVE WAY TOO FAST TO WORRY ABOUT CHOLESTEROL.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: GungaLaGunga
DEFINE "HEAVY". I'm 210lbs. Is that too heavy?

If you're 5'4", it is.

62 posted on 10/27/2005 12:57:16 PM PDT by Dashing Dasher (I DRIVE WAY TOO FAST TO WORRY ABOUT CHOLESTEROL.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Phantom Lord

25.5 ounces in a fifth.


63 posted on 10/27/2005 1:07:59 PM PDT by absolootezer0 ("My God, why have you forsaken us.. no wait, its the liberals that have forsaken you... my bad")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Phantom Lord

I'll have to do some serious research on that one . Get back to ya later. Or not.
Anybody know if there are grants available for this type of activity?


64 posted on 10/27/2005 1:10:56 PM PDT by Straight8 (Today is a gift, that's why it's called "the present".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: absolootezer0

A fifth? Who buys their bottles that small? I go for the big jugs!


65 posted on 10/27/2005 1:13:21 PM PDT by Phantom Lord (Fall on to your knees for the Phantom Lord)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick
"Also, it's known that alcoholic men can develop signs of low testosterone, including shrunken testicles and enlarged breasts."

This ex[plains Ted Kennedy.

Good one! He's like the poster child for their research...

66 posted on 10/27/2005 1:17:55 PM PDT by fortunecookie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Phantom Lord

a fifth is the perfect size for a drink with dinner.


67 posted on 10/27/2005 1:18:55 PM PDT by absolootezer0 ("My God, why have you forsaken us.. no wait, its the liberals that have forsaken you... my bad")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: Abathar
Teddy Kennedy, we found your problem! (just don't post the picture of him on the dock, Pleeeeeese)

Then you'll want to avoid looking directly at post #20, just as you would want to avoid looking directly at Teddy in person!

68 posted on 10/27/2005 1:21:51 PM PDT by fortunecookie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

Yep ~ it harmed mine ~ I only fathered five or six kids during my drinking days. ;)


69 posted on 10/27/2005 1:21:56 PM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: blackie

LOL, my friend drinks and he has 5.


70 posted on 10/27/2005 1:23:14 PM PDT by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

What a load of crap. My Dad was the town drunk and my Mom had 9 NINE living children, 1 misscarriage and twins that died died because they were premature (l944). If the twins were born today, they would probably have lived with the medical technology we have today.


DO NOT BELIEVE THIS BUNCH OF DO-DO. By the way, I do not drink at all and do not recommend it.


71 posted on 10/27/2005 1:25:28 PM PDT by nightowl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

Ya can't have too many kids. ;);)


72 posted on 10/27/2005 1:28:59 PM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: blackie

Oh yes you can!!! 1 is too many for me. I am not having any!


73 posted on 10/27/2005 1:30:22 PM PDT by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: RichInOC

How do they know it wasn't the cigarettes?

What cigarettes?

>The study included 66 non-smoking
>men who had sought treatment for
>alcoholism, along with 30
>non-smokers who had never >consumed alcohol.


74 posted on 10/27/2005 1:45:43 PM PDT by DUBYAisconsin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DUBYAisconsin

Okay, I misread it. My bad.


75 posted on 10/27/2005 1:48:58 PM PDT by RichInOC (...Phi Kappa Sigma, Beta Rho '87...My liver is evil. I must punish it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

Smart girl ~ to hell with those stretch marks. ;)

I'm not having any more either.


76 posted on 10/27/2005 1:53:19 PM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: Phantom Lord

There are ............


77 posted on 10/27/2005 1:56:41 PM PDT by beyond the sea (Gloria Borger is Andrea Mitchell on Peyote)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Phantom Lord
There is way more than 18 shots in a bottle of whiskey.

Eighteen holes did not become the standard until the early 1900s, but from 1764 onward, more courses copied the St. Andrews model.

*****

Then, on the other hand there is another explanation:

When asked why golf consists of 18 holes, a man jokingly says that it's from 18 shots being in a bottle of whiskey and that when done drinking that many (while playing the game), he reckons the round was then considered done.

****

78 posted on 10/27/2005 2:00:29 PM PDT by beyond the sea (Gloria Borger is Andrea Mitchell on Peyote)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge
Big Surprise

Opioids also cause hypogonadism and low testosterone levels.

79 posted on 10/27/2005 4:26:00 PM PDT by STD (2 Chronicles 7:14)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-79 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson