N.Petrogiannis¹, S.Zafiriou², I.Panagiotakis¹, A.Diamantis³.
1. Gynecology Dept of Navy Hospital Athens
2. Besançon, IVF Unit France
3. Cytopathology Dept of Navy Hospital Athens
Introduction: A large percentage (30-35) of men and women of reproductive age in the Greece utilize nicotine via cigarette smoking on a daily basis.It has been established that cigarette smoke contains a large number of chemical substances including nicotine, carbon monoxide and others, which, when blood borne, can access the reproductive organs and have detrimental effects on the male and female reproductive health. Based on our knowledge regarding the effects of other toxins on reproduction, scientists have rationalized that male reproduction can be impaired via continuous exposure to such chemical agents. It has been shown that smoking can impair hormonal control of male reproduction and spermatogenesis itself, as well as the quality of spermatozoa produced during spermatogenesis. No substantial epidemiological data exist on adverse effects of smoking on sexual behaviour.The current study was designed to access the possible effects of smoking on male sexual behaviour. All the semen samples and all the women that participate in this study were checked cytologically.
Material and methods : A total of 145 couples undergoing infertility evaluation at our facilities participated in the current study. During the first visit, each couple was asked to fill out a questionnaire pertaining to their clinical profile and sexual history. The requested information included: age of the husband and wife, number of years trying to conceive, sexual frequency per month and sexual satisfaction/rating (0-10, 0 = poor and 10 = extremely satisfactory). They were also asked to reveal the male’s smoking habits, specifically the number of years that they have been smoking (duration) and number of cigarettes smoked per day (smoking intensity). In all couples that participated in the study the female were non-smokers. Also, from the smoking males, only those that smoked > 30 cigarettes per day were considered in the study.
Results : Data for the two patient groups were compiled and compared. The results obtained are shown in the table below. The results point out that the two patient populations studied were similar (P>0.05). However, it was shown that non-smoker males were found to experience higher sexual frequency and higher sexual satisfaction. Also of biological significance was the fact that smoker couples had been trying to conceive for a longer time when compared to non-smoker couples.
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Patient groups
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Men’s age (years) |
Women’s age years |
Years married |
Trying to conceive (years) |
Sexual frequency (times/month) |
Smoking duration (years) |
Cigarettes smoked per day |
Sexual Satisfaction (0-10) |
|
Smokers (70) |
30,2±1,9 |
29,2±2,9 |
5,8±1,5 |
2,9±2,5 |
4,9±1,5 |
9,8±2,5 |
35,2±3,9 |
4,9±1,9 |
|
Non-smokers (75) |
31,9±2,5 |
29,8±2,9 |
5,9±0,9 |
2,8±0,3 |
10,9±2,9* |
0 |
0 |
7,9±0,6* |
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*P<0,05 |
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Discussion: Although these data are somewhat preliminary, the biological trends established in this study are of great significance. At the present time, we do not completely understand the mechanism of action of cigarette smoking on the sexual habits of these men, although it is possible to postulate that smoking could be acting at different levels in the body diminishing the smokers’ sexual frequency at our center to delineate these factors further.