Observational studyFertility and sterility2025
Perceived stress in relation to testicular function markers among men attending a fertility center.
Observational study in Fertility and sterility, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- The effect of stress on testosterone and sexual function.International journal of impotence research · 2026Review
- Associations Between Perceived Stress and Sperm DNA Methylation Among Men Attending a Fertility Center.Andrology · 2026Article
- Sperm sncRNA networks are synchronized by a coordination between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and current stress.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Associations Between Reproductive Disorders and Specific Physical, Mental, Personality, and Social Characteristics: A Narrative Review.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Psychological Stress and Male Infertility: Oxidative Stress as the Common Downstream Pathway.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Male Stress Is Associated with Ovarian and Endometrial Responses in ICSI Cycles: Is Seminal Plasma the Linchpin?International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Effects of Lifestyle, Diet, and Body Composition on Free Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Young Men.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Review
- Pregnancy urinary phenol biomarker concentrations in relation to serum levels of inflammatory cytokines: Results from the EARTH study.Environment international · 2025Article
- Occupational Heat Exposure and Fertility Stress as Independent Factors of Low Semen Quality: A Multidimensional Analysis.American journal of men's healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo study whether self-reported psychological stress was associated with impaired semen parameters and reproductive hormones.
designAn observational study including men aged 18-55 years who attended the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Clinic. SUBJECTS: A total of 718 men who attended the clinic provided semen and serum blood samples and completed the short version of the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4). EXPOSURE: Scores from completed the short version of the PSS-4 were used to quantify perceived psychological stress.
main outcome measuresThe World Health Organization semen analysis parameters, including ejaculate volume, sperm count, concentration, motility, and morphology, were ascertained. Further analysis of sperm DNA damage was performed using the Comet Assay. Serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, inhibin, testosterone, and estrogen were measured. Linear regression models were used to evaluate associations between self-reported stress and testicular function outcomes, adjusting for age, body mass index, abstinence time, year of semen sample collection, and time to blood sampling. Parameters with skewed distributions were natural log-transformed for analysis where appropriate to minimize the influence of outliers.
resultsCompared with the lowest quartile of PSS-4 scores, men in the highest had significantly lower adjusted mean total sperm count, 118 mil/ejaculate (95% confidence interval [CI]: 101-139) vs. 153 mil/ejaculate (95% CI: 133-175) and lower adjusted mean normal morphology count, 5.97 mil/ejaculate (95% CI: 4.73-7.55) vs. 9.13 mil/ejaculate (95% CI: 7.43-11.0). Higher perceived stress showed consistent trends with lower mean levels of sperm concentration, total motile count, percentage of normal sperm morphology, and number of cells with high DNA damage in adjusted models. No associations were observed between self-reported stress and other outcomes of sperm DNA damage and reproductive hormone concentrations.
conclusionGreater perceived stress was negatively associated with certain semen quality parameters and spermatic cell DNA damage, whereas no associations were found for additional markers of sperm DNA damage or reproductive hormone levels.
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