Impact of Tobacco and Alcohol on Seminal Fluid Parameters: A Focus on Sperm Viability in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Male infertility contributes substantially to the global burden of reproductive health disorders, with modifiable lifestyle factors such as tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption increasingly implicated in impaired spermatogenesis. Although several studies have evaluated their reproductive effects, region-specific data from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria remain limited. To assess the impact of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption on seminal fluid parameters among men undergoing evaluation for infertility in Rivers State, Nigeria. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 190 men aged 27-52 years attending the urology fertility clinic of Gbeye Hospital. Semen samples were collected following 2-7 days of sexual abstinence and analyzed according to WHO 2021 guidelines. Demographic information, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption history were obtained from medical records. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Comparisons between groups were performed using Wilcoxon rank sum and Kruskal–Wallis tests, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. The mean age of participants was 40.94 ± 5.73 years, with a mean duration of infertility of 5.75 ± 4.19 years. Alcohol consumption was reported in 46.20% of participants, while 21.98% reported tobacco smoking. Increasing age was significantly associated with longer duration of infertility (p < 0.001) but not with significant changes in conventional seminal parameters. Alcohol consumption did not demonstrate statistically significant differences in semen volume (p = 0.12), sperm concentration (p = 0.7), motility (p = 0.7), morphology (p = 0.9), or percentage of dead sperm cells (p = 0.9). In contrast, tobacco smoking was significantly associated with a higher percentage of dead sperm cells (51.38 ± 36.62% vs. 34.05 ± 36.23%, p = 0.017), while no statistically significant differences were observed in semen volume (p = 0.4), sperm concentration (p = 0.2), motility (p = 0.5), or morphology (p = 0.7). Tobacco smoking is associated with increased sperm cell death among infertile men in Rivers State, suggesting oxidative stress–mediated impairment of sperm viability. Alcohol consumption did not demonstrate significant effects on conventional seminal parameters in this population. Increasing age was associated with prolonged infertility duration but not with significant alterations in routine semen indices. These findings underscore the importance of lifestyle assessment and smoking cessation counselling in male infertility management.