There are two interesting articles in the current andrology literature that the Campion Fund highlights this month. Both point to possible changes in clinical practice and to further clinical studies that will help in the understanding of the relationship of men’s reproductive health and their overall health.
The first study comes from the Urology and Reproductive Medicine Departments at Amiens University, France. The authors evaluated 461 man who obtained infertility evaluations at their center from May 1, to October 31, 2021. These men underwent semen analysis and consented to HPV testing by PCR of their semen. Semen characteristics, including DNA fragmentation, sperm condensation as well as demographic data, clinical evaluation and lifestyle variables were compared between the HPV negative and HPV positive groups. Semen HPV was found in 22.3% of the 461 men. 57.6% of the HPV positive group had high-oncogenic-risk HPV types. The HPV “carriage” was significantly associated with at least one sperm abnormality. Also, HPV positivity was associated with specific clinical situations, including varicocele, history of cryptorchidism, testicular ectopia, and monorchidism. They authors note that the addition of HPV screening would be a useful addition to male fertility workups. (1)
The second study was conducted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The authors report on semen quality and lifespan of 78,284 men who were followed for up to fifty years (median of 23 years). They report that men with a total mobile sperm count of ≥ 120 million could expect to live 80,3 years compared to men with a motile sperm count of 0-5 million who could expect to live to 77.6 years. Adjustment for education and known disease at the time of the semen analysis did not change the results. The authors suggest that men with impaired sperm quality many have less health aging than the men with better semen quality. This suggests that men might be identified at the time of semen analysis for possible future health risks and could be offered evaluation for these risks. These study findings also call for the discovery of relevant biomarkers to identify a population of men at increased risk at the time of semen analysis. Discovery of biomarkers might be key in initiation of appropriate prevention strategies for men with deceased sperm quality. (2)
References:
- Priam A, Le Bozec A, Dias Meireles V, Saint F, Cabry R, Benkhalifa M, Demey B, Bosquet D. Human papillomavirus carriage in the semen of men consulting for infertility: prevalence and correlations with sperm characteristics. Asian J Androl. 2024 Oct 22;27(2):196-203. doi 10.4103/aja202358
Priskorn L, Lindahl-Jacobsen R, Jensen TK, Holmboe SA, Hansen LS, Kriegbaum M, Lind BS, Siersma V, Andersen CL, Jorgenson N. Semen quality and lifespan: a study of 78 284 men followed for up to 50 years. Hum Reprod 2026 Apr 1:40(4):730-738. doi10.1093/humrep/deaf023