ReviewNature reviews. Urology2015
Effects of psychological stress on male fertility.
Review in Nature reviews. Urology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
100 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 233 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of job stress on fertility, its intention, and infertility treatment among the workers: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Impact of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior on Spontaneous Female and Male Fertility: A Systematic Review.Journal of physical activity & health · 2023Pooled it
- Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Pooled it
- Exposure to non-persistent chemicals in consumer products and fecundability: a systematic review.Human reproduction update · 2019Pooled it
- Coffee and caffeine intake and male infertility: a systematic review.Nutrition journal · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Nut Consumption and Sperm Quality in Healthy Men: Results From the Led-Fertyl Study.Andrology · 2026Article
- Fertility protection in the reproductive-age population: A evolutionary concept analysis.International journal of nursing sciences · 2026Review
- Terpenes as Potential Multi-Target Modulators of Chronic Stress-Induced Neuroendocrine-Immune Dysregulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Chronic Stress Destabilizes Ectoplasmic Specialization Dynamics in the Rat Testis via Downregulating the Focal Adhesion Kinase-Associated Protein Complex.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2026Article
- Psychological Stress and Male Infertility: Oxidative Stress as the Common Downstream Pathway.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Male Infertility: A Comprehensive Review of Urological Causes and Contemporary Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Male Stress Is Associated with Ovarian and Endometrial Responses in ICSI Cycles: Is Seminal Plasma the Linchpin?International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Oral administration of kratom leaf extract alleviates anxiety-like behavior, urinary bladder pain, voiding dysfunction, and bladder hypercontractility via attenuating muscarinic receptor response in male mice exposed to chronic water avoidance stress.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Acute stress induction downregulates RHOX-5 gene expression causing altered fertility indices in MALE Wistar rats.JBRA assisted reproduction · 2026Article
- Adolescent psychological stress impairs spermatogenesis by disrupting meiotic progression in male mice.PeerJ · 2026Article
- Determinants of male fertility in the Western Pacific Region: environmental, biological, and lifestyle influences.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Review
- Norepinephrine Induces Sertoli Cell Ferroptosis via Receptors Desensitization Causing Stress-Related Male Reproductive Dysfunction.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Overactivation of PERK-Mediated Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Testis Damage in Chronically Stressed Mice.ACS omega · 2025Article
40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Psychological stress can be defined as any uncomfortable 'emotional experience' accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioural changes or responses. Many clinical studies looking at the effects of psychological stress on male fertility have shown that stress is associated with reduced paternity and abnormal semen parameters. Enough scientific evidence exists to suggest that psychological stress could severely affect spermatogenesis, mainly as a result of varying testosterone secretion. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has a direct inhibitory action on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and Leydig cells in the testes. The newly discovered hormone, gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), also has an inhibitory effect on the HPG axis. Inhibition of the HPG axis results in a fall in testosterone levels, which causes changes in Sertoli cells and the blood-testis barrier, leading to the arrest of spermatogenesis. Germ cells also become vulnerable to gonadotoxins and oxidation. However, the extent and severity of the effects of psychological stress on human testes is difficult to study and data mostly come from animal models. Despite this limitation, stress as a causative factor in male infertility cannot be ignored and patients should be made aware of its effects on testicular function and fertility and helped to manage them.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.