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The Effect of Smoking on Male Infertility

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Male Infertility

Abstract

While the adverse effects of cigarette smoke on human physiology have been well documented in medical literature, there is still some debate about the effect of smoking on male infertility. The majority of studies have reported that the contents of cigarette smoke have a negative effect on sperm parameters, seminal plasma, and various other fertility factors. These determinations are based on the well-established biological concepts that smoking increases the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and that ROS lead to oxidative stress (OS). OS is well known to have devastating effects on spermatozoa viability, morphology, and function, leading to the logical conclusion that smoking causes OS, lowers sperm quality, and causes fertility problems in men. However, there are some studies that deny the correlation between smoking and male infertility. This chapter will shed light upon this issue, presenting the results from both sides of the debate and providing the possible mechanisms that have been proposed linking the contents of cigarette smoke with male infertility. From this analysis, it can be concluded that without ascertaining the exact biological mechanisms of smoking-induced male infertility, disagreements in studies will persist. However, there is little doubt that smoking is a male infertility factor and male smokers who are experiencing infertility should quit to improve their chances at successful reproduction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation/Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, 10681 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Omar Haque BS, Joseph A. Vitale & Ashok Agarwal PhD

  2. Division of Medical Physiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Western Cape, South Africa

    Stefan S. du Plessis BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, PhD (Stell)

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  1. Omar Haque BS
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  2. Joseph A. Vitale
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  3. Ashok Agarwal PhD
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  4. Stefan S. du Plessis BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, PhD (Stell)
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Correspondence to Stefan S. du Plessis BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, PhD (Stell) .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Physiology, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Health Sciences, Tygerberg, South Africa

    Stefan S. du Plessis

  2. Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

  3. Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Edmund S. Sabanegh, Jr.

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Haque, O., Vitale, J.A., Agarwal, A., du Plessis, S.S. (2014). The Effect of Smoking on Male Infertility. In: du Plessis, S., Agarwal, A., Sabanegh, Jr., E. (eds) Male Infertility. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1040-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1040-3_2

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