Most men only consider checking their sperm quality after they have tried unsuccessfully to start a family with their partner.
But should all men start regularly monitoring their sperm from their late teens?
It's an idea suggested by a leading UK expert, who believes it could help identify thousands of hidden cases of male infertility at an early stage — and in time for treatment that could avoid future problems with having children.
Unlike traditional methods that involve sending a sperm sample to a laboratory through your family doctor or a fertility clinic, a process that can take weeks to get the results, in recent years home tests have been launched by well-known pharmacies such as Boots and Superdrug, with prices starting at 40 euros.
These tests work by placing a sperm sample in a solution and then on a test strip. For example, Boots' test claims to be 98% accurate and gives a result in just ten minutes — a red line indicates a normal sperm count.
Meanwhile, a private clinic near Manchester city centre, opened by Danish sperm bank Cryos International, claims to be the first in the UK to offer free, same-day sperm tests.
Both — home and private tests — measure:
The number of sperm (in one milliliter of semen),
Their mobility (how well they move),
Morphology (shape – sperm must have an oval head and a long tail to swim properly).
A level below 15 million sperm per milliliter significantly reduces the chance of fertilizing an egg (a healthy number can reach up to 200 million), and at least a third of them must move properly to pass through the woman's reproductive system.
Research shows that male infertility is a factor in about half of the cases where couples cannot conceive.
But many of these cases could be detected and perhaps treated earlier if every boy had a sperm analysis at age 18 and again a few years later, to monitor changes in count and motility, argues Tet Yap, an andrological surgeon at Guy's and St Thomas' and Princess Grace hospitals in London.
A big benefit?
A major benefit, he said, would be the earlier detection of varicocele – a fertility-damaging problem that affects up to 20% of men.
Varicocele occurs when blood builds up in the veins of the scrotum, often during puberty, and usually without pain or symptoms.
But this can significantly reduce sperm production, as warm blood increases the temperature in the testicles, inhibiting sperm formation.
Many men discover they have varicocele only after they face problems having children.
But, according to Mr. Yap, sperm checks at age 18 and later in the early 20s can signal if there is a low sperm count due to an undetected varicocele.
“It's an important health issue among young people, but most are not informed about it,” he told Good Health.
"Some kind of scan or checkup from age 18 is not a bad idea — semen analysis can help us catch it and treat it."
How is it treated?
Varicoceles are usually treated with embolization, a procedure where doctors inject metal or foam coils into damaged veins to stop blood flow, causing the varicocele to shrink.
A Japanese study from 2014 showed that after treatment, sperm counts increased from 2.4 million to 12 million per milliliter – still less than normal, but with significant improvement in fertility.
Other hidden dangers?
Another cause of hidden sperm damage in young men is mumps – a not uncommon disease in adolescents, which can cause inflammation in the testicles and damage the tubes where sperm is produced.
“If a problem is discovered that could worsen over time, it might be a good idea for the guy to freeze some sperm samples as early as possible, just in case,” adds Mr. Yap.
Not just for fertility
Numerous studies show that low sperm count in young men is also linked to other serious diseases.
A 2018 study from the University of Brescia in Italy found that men with low sperm counts were 20% more likely to have:
more body fat,
high blood pressure,
high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
They also had lower levels of testosterone, which negatively affects sexual desire, muscle mass, and bone density.
Researchers emphasized that sperm problems do not directly cause disease, but are warning signs of hidden health problems, such as heart disease or some types of cancer.
In fact, some studies have found that men with poor sperm have double the risk of prostate cancer later in life, possibly due to impaired DNA repair mechanisms that are linked to both conditions.
Should it become a routine?
Not everyone agrees with the idea of making sperm checks routine, especially when in 40% of cases of male infertility there is no identifiable cause, which means there is often no solution.
“This is something to think about, because apart from a healthy lifestyle, there's often not much that can be done — and it can just be an unnecessary worry for guys,” says Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Manchester.
"I know some guys who test themselves every two weeks because they're so worried about their sperm count."
He emphasizes that age is the biggest risk to male fertility, despite famous examples of actors or musicians becoming fathers at the age of 70 or 80.
"Even if a man has a good sperm count in his 30s or 40s, their quality has declined," he says.
"As you age, it's not just about the number or mobility – it's the change in quality that makes you less fertile."
"Men in their 40s are half as fertile as those under 25."
"They should think about starting a family earlier than they think." /Express newspaper/
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