TY - JOUR

T1 - Association Between Use of Marijuana and Male Reproductive Hormones and Semen Quality

T2 - A Study Among 1,215 Healthy Young Men

AU - Gundersen, Tina Djernis

AU - Jørgensen, Niels

AU - Andersson, Anna-Maria

AU - Bang, Anne Kirstine

AU - Nordkap, Loa

AU - Skakkebæk, Niels E

AU - Priskorn, Lærke

AU - Juul, Anders

AU - Jensen, Tina Kold

N1 - © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - A total of 1,215 young Danish men aged 18-28 years were recruited between 2008 and 2012 when they attended a compulsory medical examination to determine their fitness for military service. The participants delivered a semen sample, had a blood sample drawn, and underwent a physical examination. They responded to questionnaires including information on marijuana and recreational drug use during the past 3 months (no use, use once per week or less, or use more than once per week). A total of 45% had smoked marijuana within the last 3 months. Regular marijuana smoking more than once per week was associated with a 28% (95% confidence interval (CI): -48, -1) lower sperm concentration and a 29% (95% CI: -46, -1) lower total sperm count after adjustment for confounders. The combined use of marijuana more than once per week and other recreational drugs reduced the sperm concentration by 52% (95% CI: -68, -27) and total sperm count by 55% (95% CI: -71, -31). Marijuana smokers had higher levels of testosterone within the same range as cigarette smokers. Our findings are of public interest as marijuana use is common and may be contributing to recent reports of poor semen quality.

AB - A total of 1,215 young Danish men aged 18-28 years were recruited between 2008 and 2012 when they attended a compulsory medical examination to determine their fitness for military service. The participants delivered a semen sample, had a blood sample drawn, and underwent a physical examination. They responded to questionnaires including information on marijuana and recreational drug use during the past 3 months (no use, use once per week or less, or use more than once per week). A total of 45% had smoked marijuana within the last 3 months. Regular marijuana smoking more than once per week was associated with a 28% (95% confidence interval (CI): -48, -1) lower sperm concentration and a 29% (95% CI: -46, -1) lower total sperm count after adjustment for confounders. The combined use of marijuana more than once per week and other recreational drugs reduced the sperm concentration by 52% (95% CI: -68, -27) and total sperm count by 55% (95% CI: -71, -31). Marijuana smokers had higher levels of testosterone within the same range as cigarette smokers. Our findings are of public interest as marijuana use is common and may be contributing to recent reports of poor semen quality.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Cross-Sectional Studies

KW - Denmark

KW - Follow-Up Studies

KW - Healthy Volunteers

KW - Humans

KW - Incidence

KW - Male

KW - Marijuana Abuse

KW - Reproductive Health

KW - Retrospective Studies

KW - Semen Analysis

KW - Sperm Count

KW - Testosterone

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1093/aje/kwv135

DO - 10.1093/aje/kwv135

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26283092

VL - 182

SP - 473

EP - 481

JO - American Journal of Epidemiology

JF - American Journal of Epidemiology

SN - 0002-9262

IS - 6

ER -