Men who ejaculate more often may have better fertility, according to a new study from the University of Oxford. The research found that sperm quality deteriorates over time as it remains in the body, with longer periods of abstinence linked to increased DNA damage and oxidative stress.
The meta-analysis, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, combined 115 human studies involving nearly 55,000 men, along with 56 studies on non-human species. It revealed that sperm stored in the male body tends to deteriorate regardless of age, challenging current guidelines that recommend abstinence before fertility treatment.
Current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines advise men to abstain from ejaculating for two to seven days before providing sperm for fertility tests or IVF. However, these guidelines were designed to maximise sperm count rather than quality. The Oxford team suggests that a shorter abstinence period may yield healthier sperm, which could improve success rates in assisted reproduction.
Dr Krish Sanghvi, lead author of the study, said: “All we recommend is that clinicians and couples reconsider whether long abstinence is always good, because abstinence leads to deterioration in sperm quality.” He noted that while sperm quantity is important, quality also plays a crucial role in fertilisation success, particularly in IVF.
A recent clinical trial involving 453 couples supports this view. It found that pregnancy rates were 46% when men abstained for less than two days before IVF, compared to 36% for those who followed the WHO guidelines. Professor Allan Pacey from the University of Manchester commented: “For assisted reproductive technology treatments, it’s having the freshest, most healthy sperm that is probably more important.”
