Tight-fitting men's underwear harms the quality of men's semen by affecting its concentration, according to a study published in the specialized journal Human Reproduction. Researchers at Harvard University have concluded that men who wear baggy underpants have higher sperm concentrations. higher than those who wear tight underwear, after analyzing the results of 665 participants. The team led by scientist Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón has also found that men who use boxer shorts had lower levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which stimulates sperm production. The researchers have assured that these findings "suggest that FSH kicks in when it needs to compensate for testicular damage from increased scrotal temperatures and sperm concentration."
Men of couples in fertility treatment
Mínguez-Alarcón and her colleagues selected men from couples seeking fertility treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital between 2000 and 2017. The men were between the ages of 18 and 56, had an average body mass index (BMI), and had not had vasectomies. They each provided a semen and blood sample on the same day and answered a questionnaire that asked about the style of underwear they most often wore in the previous three months. Among the 656 men, 53% reported that they usually he wore baggy underpants. Those who primarily wore such underwear had a 25% higher sperm ratio in their sperm; a 17% higher percentage in the total number of sperm; 33% more sperm in a single ejaculation; 14% lower levels of FSH than men who did not generally wear boxers. These results were made after adjusting for factors that may affect the conclusions, such as BMI, physical activity, hot baths, smoking the year in which the sample was taken.
gonadotropin secretion
The greatest difference in sperm concentration was found between men who wear baggy briefs more frequently and those who regularly wear tighter "jockey" or "briefs" briefs. "We were able to find a compensatory mechanism by which the decreased sperm production related to the type of underwear sends signals to the hypothalamus to increase the secretion of gonadotropin, a hormone that acts on the testicles and is reflected in the increase in FSH levels, "said the scientist. There was, however, significant differences in other reproductive hormones or sperm DNA damage.
