Heavy drinking may harm male hormones, sperm

[belgareth]

Heavy drinking may harm male hormones, sperm By Amy Norton





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.

[Undertow]

Not surprising to me at all.

Alcohol kills testosterone production and shoots estrogen through the roof. That can't be good for a man's sexual

health.