Ever cannabis use and biomarkers of male fecundity – A study in the Danish National Birth Cohort

IF 2.8 4区医学 Q2 REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Reproductive toxicology Pub Date : 2025-07-20 DOI:10.1016/j.reprotox.2025.109004

Georges Khoury , Sidsel Dan Hull , Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen , Anne Gaml Sørensen , Karin Sørig Hougaard , Kajsa Ugelvig Petersen , Gunnar Toft , Laura Deen , Jens Peter Bonde , Sandra Søgaard Tøttenborg

{"title":"Ever cannabis use and biomarkers of male fecundity – A study in the Danish National Birth Cohort","authors":"Georges Khoury , Sidsel Dan Hull , Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen , Anne Gaml Sørensen , Karin Sørig Hougaard , Kajsa Ugelvig Petersen , Gunnar Toft , Laura Deen , Jens Peter Bonde , Sandra Søgaard Tøttenborg","doi":"10.1016/j.reprotox.2025.109004","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Reports of low semen quality have led to investigations of potential risk factors, including cannabis use. Cannabis affects the endocannabinoid system, which in part regulates spermatogenesis and hormonal balance, but evidence on its impact on male reproductive health remains inconsistent.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study examined the associations between ever cannabis use and biomarkers of male fecundity in a large cohort of young Danish men incorporating detailed information on their concurrent health behaviors and potential confounding factors during fetal life, a key limitation of previous studies.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We used data from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality cohort, a sub cohort of 1058 young men born to women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Cannabis use was self-reported via an online questionnaire before a clinical examination. Semen samples were collected and analyzed for volume, concentration, total count, motility, morphology, and DNA fragmentation. Hormone levels were measured from venous blood samples. Testicular volume was self-assessed using a Prader Orchidometer.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Among participants included in the analytical sample, 324 (31 %) had never used cannabis and 721 (59 %) had used cannabis at least once. We observed no association between ever cannabis use and male fecundity biomarkers, except for a slight indication of higher follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels among ever cannabis users (8 % [95 % CI: −2, 20]).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>While we found no associations between ever cannabis use and most biomarkers of fecundity in young men, the higher FSH levels among ever cannabis users could suggest early signs of impaired testicular function. However, this needs to be confirmed in studies with a more comprehensive assessment of cannabis exposure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21137,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive toxicology","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 109004"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Reproductive toxicology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890623825001753","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Reports of low semen quality have led to investigations of potential risk factors, including cannabis use. Cannabis affects the endocannabinoid system, which in part regulates spermatogenesis and hormonal balance, but evidence on its impact on male reproductive health remains inconsistent.

Objective

This study examined the associations between ever cannabis use and biomarkers of male fecundity in a large cohort of young Danish men incorporating detailed information on their concurrent health behaviors and potential confounding factors during fetal life, a key limitation of previous studies.

Methods

We used data from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality cohort, a sub cohort of 1058 young men born to women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Cannabis use was self-reported via an online questionnaire before a clinical examination. Semen samples were collected and analyzed for volume, concentration, total count, motility, morphology, and DNA fragmentation. Hormone levels were measured from venous blood samples. Testicular volume was self-assessed using a Prader Orchidometer.

Results

Among participants included in the analytical sample, 324 (31 %) had never used cannabis and 721 (59 %) had used cannabis at least once. We observed no association between ever cannabis use and male fecundity biomarkers, except for a slight indication of higher follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels among ever cannabis users (8 % [95 % CI: −2, 20]).

Conclusion

While we found no associations between ever cannabis use and most biomarkers of fecundity in young men, the higher FSH levels among ever cannabis users could suggest early signs of impaired testicular function. However, this needs to be confirmed in studies with a more comprehensive assessment of cannabis exposure.

查看原文本刊更多论文

曾经使用大麻和男性生育能力的生物标志物——丹麦国家出生队列的一项研究。

背景：精液质量低下的报告导致了对潜在危险因素的调查，包括大麻的使用。大麻影响内源性大麻素系统，该系统在一定程度上调节精子发生和荷尔蒙平衡，但其对男性生殖健康影响的证据仍不一致。目的：本研究在一大批丹麦年轻男性中研究了大麻使用与男性生育能力生物标志物之间的关系，并纳入了他们在胎儿期同时存在的健康行为和潜在混杂因素的详细信息，这是以往研究的一个关键局限性。方法：我们使用了来自精液质量胎儿规划队列的数据，这是一个纳入丹麦国家出生队列的1058名年轻男性的亚队列。在临床检查之前，通过在线问卷自我报告大麻使用情况。收集并分析精液样本的体积、浓度、总数、运动性、形态和DNA片段。从静脉血样本中测量激素水平。睾丸体积用Prader Orchidometer自行评估。结果：在分析样本中的参与者中，324人（31%）从未使用过大麻，721人（59%）至少使用过一次大麻。我们观察到，除了大麻使用者中卵泡刺激素（FSH）水平较高的轻微迹象（8% [95% CI: - 2,20]）外，大麻使用与男性生育能力生物标志物之间没有关联。结论：虽然我们没有发现大麻使用与年轻男性生育能力的大多数生物标志物之间存在关联，但大麻使用者中较高的FSH水平可能表明睾丸功能受损的早期迹象。然而，这需要在对大麻接触进行更全面评估的研究中得到证实。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Reproductive toxicology 生物-毒理学

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

3.00%

发文量

131

审稿时长

45 days

期刊介绍： Drawing from a large number of disciplines, Reproductive Toxicology publishes timely, original research on the influence of chemical and physical agents on reproduction. Written by and for obstetricians, pediatricians, embryologists, teratologists, geneticists, toxicologists, andrologists, and others interested in detecting potential reproductive hazards, the journal is a forum for communication among researchers and practitioners. Articles focus on the application of in vitro, animal and clinical research to the practice of clinical medicine. All aspects of reproduction are within the scope of Reproductive Toxicology, including the formation and maturation of male and female gametes, sexual function, the events surrounding the fusion of gametes and the development of the fertilized ovum, nourishment and transport of the conceptus within the genital tract, implantation, embryogenesis, intrauterine growth, placentation and placental function, parturition, lactation and neonatal survival. Adverse reproductive effects in males will be considered as significant as adverse effects occurring in females. To provide a balanced presentation of approaches, equal emphasis will be given to clinical and animal or in vitro work. Typical end points that will be studied by contributors include infertility, sexual dysfunction, spontaneous abortion, malformations, abnormal histogenesis, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity, behavioral abnormalities, and perinatal mortality.