Sperm parameter distribution among different socio-psycho-behavioural factors in 1346 healthy men recruited for the study in Chongqing, China in 2007
| Sperm parameters [M (P25–P75)] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socio-psycho-behavioural factors | n (%) | Semen volume (ml) | Sperm concentration (106/ml) | Total sperm count (106) | Rapid progress motility (A%) | Progress motility [(A+B)%] | Morphologically normal sperm (%) |
| Education (years) (n=1335) | |||||||
| 7–12 | 874 (65.5) | 2.5 (1.6–3.0) | 83.8 (50.2–107.8) | 196.5 (94.4–263.9) | 29.6 (13.5–42.2) | 44.9 (22.5–63.3) | 29.4 (20.6–36.6) |
| ≥12 | 296 (22.2) | 2.6 (1.9–3.2) | 88.9 (53.0–113.8) | 229.4 (122.7–298.2) | 31.8 (15.0–44.2) | 47.4 (23.7–65.9) | 28.8 (20.6–36.1) |
| p* | — | 0.075 | 0.202 | 0.007 | 0.072 | 0.138 | 0.257 |
| Occupational class (n=1324) | |||||||
| Manual | 450 (33.97) | 2.6 (1.6–3.2) | 85.9 (52.8–111.0) | 211.5 (101.4–280.3) | 30.6 (13.7–43.2) | 46.6 (23.4–64.9) | 29.6 (20.6–37.1) |
| Semi-skilled | 574 (43.32) | 2.4 (1.6–3.0) | 81.6 (49.0–110.5) | 191.6 (94.4–259.2) | 27.9 (12.6–40.4) | 43.5 (22.2–62.2) | 30.5 (21.0–38.5) |
| Skilled | 300 (22.71) | 2.7 (2.0–3.2) | 90.7 (51.6–109.8) | 224.8 (109.8–293.7) | 31.0 (14.8–43.7) | 45.7 (22.4–64.3) | 28.2 (19.60–35.6) |
| p* | — | 0.004 | 0.61 | 0.019 | 0.157 | 0.63 | 0.064 |
| Annual income per person (Yuan RMB) (n=1316) | |||||||
| <3000 | 642 (48.78) | 2.5 (1.6–3.0) | 85.0 (49.5–110.5) | 200.2 (94.3–272.0) | 29.4 (12.9–42.7) | 44.7 (21.9–62.9) | 29.6 (19.8–38.5) |
| 3000–7999 | 378 (28.72) | 2.5 (1.7–3.2) | 83.3 (53.8–109.5) | 206.4 (100.9–266.4) | 30.6 (15.2–42.8) | 46.4 (24.7–63.9) | 29.7 (20.8–37.1) |
| 8000–12999 | 193 (14.67) | 2.5 (1.6–3.0) | 89.9 (51.8–112.1) | 208.7 (100.6–276.3) | 29.9 (13.1–42.9) | 45.2 (21.4–66.0) | 28.0 (20.5–34.9) |
| ≥13000 | 103 (7.83) | 2.4 (1.5–3.1) | 74.7 (49.1–104.9) | 185.5 (98.9–256.0) | 27.8 (13.0–38.5) | 41.3 (21.5–57.3) | 30.9 (22.2–36.8) |
| p* | — | 0.811 | 0.331 | 0.517 | 0.407 | 0.245 | 0.469 |
| Psychological stress (n=1338) | |||||||
| Extremely | 132 (9.9) | 2.7 (1.7–3.2) | 82.3 (53.5–111.7) | 221.0 (89.8–272.5) | 28.3 (14.3–40.6) | 43.3 (27.2–60.5) | 27.3 (19.0–33.0) |
| Quite a bit | 609 (45.5) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 86.6 (52.5–110.5) | 200.8 (97.6–266.4) | 29.9 (13.5–42.7) | 45.1 (23.1–63.3) | 29.4 (20.6–37.1) |
| Moderately | 536 (40.1) | 2.5 (1.6–3.0) | 84.9 (51.1–109.9) | 205.8 (96.8–271.3) | 30.6 (13.9–43.8) | 46.5 (23.1–65.1) | 29.8 (20.8–37.9) |
| Not at all | 59 (4.4) | 2.6 (1.9–3.2) | 79.3 (43.8–107.4) | 229.9 (125.6–296.9) | 26.4 (9.9–37.7) | 40.4 (18.7–55.9) | 30.4 (21.8–38.9) |
| p* | — | 0.2 | 0.52 | 0.315 | 0.179 | 0.24 | 0.029 |
| Smoking (number of cigarettes/day) (n=1343) | |||||||
| Never | 483 (36.0) | 2.5 (1.7–3.0) | 85.7 (51.1–109.9) | 212.2 (99.9–280.8) | 29.9 (13.7–42.6) | 45.8 (23.2–63.3) | 29.4 (21.0–36.6) |
| Current | 774 (57.6) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 84.3 (49.4–109.5) | 196.1 (95.9–263.4.) | 29.8 (13.4–42.6) | 45.1 (22.4–64.4) | 29.3 (19.8–37.6) |
| Ex-smoker | 86 (6.4) | 2.7 (1.7–3.3) | 84.6 (55.2–110.1) | 216.4 (98.9–301.7) | 29.3 (12.6–41.6) | 41.9 (20.9–61.0) | 30.0 (20.8–39.6) |
| p* | — | 0.315 | 0.562 | 0.113 | 0.912 | 0.7 | 0.809 |
| Alcohol consumption (number of drinks/month) (n=1343) | |||||||
| Never | 474 (35.2) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 79.9 (48.7–105.3) | 199.2 (95.5–265.3) | 28.4 (12.7–40.0) | 42.9 (20.9–60.5) | 29.9 (21.1–37.6) |
| Current | 853 (63.4) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 87.8 (51.6–112.7) | 206.4 (98.3–275.7) | 30.7 (14.2–43.4) | 46.6 (23.6–64.9) | 28.8 (19.6–36.6) |
| Before | 19 (1.4) | 2.5 (1.8–2.9) | 81.7 (49.5–110.1) | 186.1 (94.0–245.5) | 27.1 (8.2–40.6) | 42. 7 (17.9–65.2) | 33.0 (22.6–42.4) |
| p* | — | 0.966 | 0.148 | 0.718 | 0.087 | 0.121 | 0.337 |
| Tea drinking (n=1328) | |||||||
| Seldom | 394 (29.7) | 2.5 (1.6–3.0) | 83.9 (50.9–106.7) | 204.7 (97.4–276.2) | 29.0 (12.9–41.7) | 44.9 (22.4–63.9) | 29.0 (20.7–36.6) |
| Occasional | 670 (50.5) | 2.5 (1.7–3.1) | 88.3 (53.3–111.7) | 211.0 (102.9–280.0) | 30.8 (14.8–42.7) | 46.4 (24.2–64.2) | 29.5 (20.8–37.1) |
| Often | 264 (19.9) | 2.5 (1.5–3.1) | 77.5 (43.5–106.2) | 181.4 (84.4–232.9) | 28.0 (11.9–41.1) | 41.8 (19.1–60.8) | 29.8 (19.1–39.4) |
| p* | — | 0.724 | 0.011 | 0.002 | 0.08 | 0.032 | 0.838 |
| Coffee drinking (n=1321) | |||||||
| Seldom | 1108 (83.9) | 2.5 (1.0–3.1) | 84.8 (50.8–109.2) | 203.3 (97.5–272.7) | 29.6 (13.38–42.6) | 45.2 (22.7–63.3) | 29.5 (20.8–37.3) |
| Occasional | 201 (15.2) | 2.3 (1.5–3.0) | 83.1 (50.5–117.7) | 199.2 (96.9–269.5) | 29.7 (13.38–41.6) | 42.9 (20.3–62.5) | 29.2 (20.6–36.4) |
| Often | 12 (0.9) | 2.4 (1.7–3.4) | 83.8 (49.2–122.1) | 174.9 (109.9–242.2) | 38.8 (20.6–57.6) | 52.7 (25.1–80.6) | 31.6 (15.1–47.8) |
| p* | — | 0.099 | 0.94 | 0.733 | 0.316 | 0.316 | 0.884 |
| Tight-fitting underwear (n=1337) | |||||||
| No | 885 (66.2) | 2.5 (1.7–3.1) | 83.5 (48.2–107.1) | 199.3 (94.3–266.9) | 28.8 (12.5–40.6) | 44.0 (20.9–62.3) | 29.8 (20.8–37.5) |
| Occasional | 363 (27.2) | 2.4 (1.6–3.0) | 88.4 (57.7–111.9) | 212.8 (110.3–277.1) | 32.4 (17.1–44.9) | 47.9 (26.6–64.9) | 28.7 (20.2–35.0) |
| Often | 89 (6.7) | 2.5 (1.9–3.0) | 82.9 (54.2–113.5) | 205.1 (92.6–273.9) | 29.3 (13.7–41.6) | 45.4 (23.4–62.9) | 28.1 (17.5–36.7) |
| p* | — | 0.159 | 0.004 | 0.338 | 0.003 | 0.017 | 0.156 |
| †Fibre underwear (n=1337) | |||||||
| No | 877 (65.6) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 84.3 (49.1–110.3) | 203.1 (98.6–274.3) | 29.4 (12.9–41.8) | 44.3 (21.1–62.1) | 30.2 (21.3–38.0) |
| Occasional | 353 (26.4) | 2.4 (1.5–3.0) | 85.5 (55.2–108.5) | 203.8 (96.0–265.7) | 30.4 (14.2–43. 9) | 46.9 (24.8–66.1) | 28.2 (18.6–36.1) |
| Often | 107 (8.0) | 2.5 (2.0–3.1) | 87.6 (53.3–121.2) | 203.8 (94.4–279.7) | 30.8 (15.5–43.3) | 46.7 (24.7–65.8) | 25.9 (17.6–31.1) |
| p* | — | 0.215 | 0.323 | 0.8 | 0.293 | 0.095 | 0.001 |
| Takes hot baths (n=1339) | |||||||
| No | 578 (43.2) | 2.6 (1.7–3.2) | 85.1 (49.8–19.9) | 204.4 (96.9–276.4) | 28.6 (13.0–41.4) | 43.9 (21.2–63.9) | 30.9 (21.4–39.2) |
| Occasional | 464 (34.7) | 2.4 (1.5–3.0) | 86.1 (53.3–111.8) | 208.5 (100.6–279.9) | 31.8 (15.5–44.2) | 47.2 (24.4–64.4) | 28.7 (20.4–35.9) |
| Often | 279 (20.8) | 2.4 (1.5–3.0) | 82.7 (51.0–108.6) | 191.6 (96.0–252.6) | 29.3 (12.8–36.2) | 44.4 (22.2–61.8) | 27.4 (18.1–32.9) |
| p* | — | 0.054 | 0.345 | 0.284 | 0.091 | 0.173 | 0.001 |
| Sleep (hours/day) (n=1340) | |||||||
| <4 | 13 (1.0) | 3.2 (2.0–4.0) | 58.8 (40.6–77.1) | 214.1 (114.4–245.6) | 21.9 (10.3–27.7) | 30.9 (14.4–38.3) | 27.0 (15.7–40.9) |
| 4–6 | 180 (13.4) | 2.4 (1.6–3.0) | 87.8 (56.6–111.6) | 204.6 (95.8–270.9) | 32.1 (16.7–41.6) | 47.2 (27.5–63.3) | 31.4 (21.7–38.2) |
| 6–8 | 819 (61.1) | 2.6 (1.7–3.1) | 85.7 (50.3–110.5) | 207.7 (98.7–275.7) | 29.6 (12.9–42.8) | 45.7 (22.2–64.2) | 29.0 (19.9–36.5) |
| >8 | 328 (24.5) | 2.4 (1.5–3.0) | 82.5 (49.8–108.4) | 191.6 (96.0–263.9) | 29.2 (13.3–40.4) | 43.4 (21.8–62.1) | 29.4 (20.8–37.8) |
| p* | — | 0.052 | 0.099 | 0.509 | 0.229 | 0.114 | 0.224 |
| Computer use (hours/day) (n=1334) | |||||||
| 0 or <1 | 968 (72.6) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 84.1 (50.6–108.7) | 199.2 (96.1–263.9) | 28.9 (13.3–41.3) | 44.5 (22.5–62.6) | 29.6 (20.7–37.2) |
| 1–3 | 192 (14.4) | 2.5 (1.6–3.0) | 87.1 (51.9–109.3) | 211.5 (107.9–269.7) | 32.2 (14.2–43.8) | 46.8 (22.6–63.1) | 29.2 (20.8–36.8) |
| 3–5 | 105 (7.9) | 2.7 (2.0–3.4) | 85.8 (48.6–116.3) | 231.8 (106.9–329.9) | 33.6 (15.3–46.4) | 47.7 (23.1–68.4) | 27.8 (18.4–36.7) |
| >5 | 69 (5.2) | 2.4 (1.5–3.0) | 86.4 (49.9–119.2) | 199.9 (99.4–258.4) | 29.4 (13.2–45.1) | 45.5 (22.4–66.4) | 27.5 (20.4–33.7) |
| p* | — | 0.111 | 0.621 | 0.243 | 0.13 | 0.497 | 0.46 |
| Sedentary position (hours/day) (n=1341) | |||||||
| <1 | 202 (15.1) | 2.4 (1.5–3. 0) | 84.1 (48.3–110.7) | 197. 7 (87.8–262.7) | 28.7 (13.6–40.2) | 45.4 (22.2–63.3) | 28.5 (18.4–37.0) |
| 1–3 | 449 (33.5) | 2.5 (1.7–3.2) | 85.7 (52.3–108.2) | 206.7 (98.8–280.5) | 29.5 (14.0–40.5) | 45.0 (23.2–63.2) | 29.6 (20.8–37.0) |
| 3–5 | 361 (26.9) | 2. 6 (1.7–3.2) | 82.4 (48.6–110.7) | 200.6 (94.6–274.4) | 29.9 (12.7–42.7) | 44.4 (21.9–61.9) | 29.2 (20.4–36.7) |
| >5 | 329 (24.5) | 2.4 (1.6–3.0) | 86.5 (53. 3–113.8) | 203.9 (102.5–263.0) | 30.7 (13.8–44.3) | 45.9 (22.6–65.6) | 29.9 (21.6–38.6) |
| p* | — | 0.55 | 0.512 | 0.559 | 0.64 | 0.707 | 0.55 |
| Physical activity (n=1287) | |||||||
| No | 913 (70.9) | 2.5 (1.6–3.1) | 82.6 (48.6–109.9) | 196.9 (94.1–264.3) | 30.1 (13.1–43.3) | 45.1 (22.3–63.4) | 29.4 (20.3–37.4) |
| Yes | 374 (29.1) | 2.6 (1.8–3.2) | 85.5 (51.5–108.2) | 217.8 (108.2–280.9) | 28.9 (14.4–39.9) | 44.7 (22.6–62.7) | 29.2 (20.9–35.3) |
| p* | — | 0.034 | 0.545 | 0.049 | 0.451 | 0.646 | 0.837 |
Bold type denotes significance values of p<0.05.
↵* Kruskal–Wallis H test used to compare the median between categories of each socio-psycho-behavioural factor. B refers to slow or sluggish progressive motility.
↵† Fibre underwear refers to underwear made of man-made fibres as opposed to natural fibres such as cotton.
M, median; P25, 25th percentile; P75, 75th percentile.