The Healthy by Reader’s Digest – The average American male’s life expectancy is 74.8 years – five years less than data-driven projections for women.
While there are multiple reasons for this disparity, new research is suggesting that certain aspects of sexual health can be a practical predictor of how long a man might live.
A study by a team of medical researchers in Denmark, some of whom specialize in male health, aimed to investigate a possible association between semen quality and the length of a man’s life:
“Male infertility and semen quality have been suggested to be markers of morbidity and thus mortality, but the role of underlying disease present at time of semen quality evaluation has not been thoroughly assessed.”
The team reviewed data from 78,284 men whose semen quality had been analyzed between 1965 and 2015 at a public laboratory near Copenhagen.
To determine semen quality, lab workers considered several factors that included: semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm count, and the number of sperm capable of swimming toward an egg.
Though the researchers say more scientific inquiry is necessary, Mayo Clinic lists simple practices a man can follow to promote fertility and reduce the risks of testicular disease and pituitary conditions. These include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Managing stress
- Avoiding or limiting alcohol
- Wearing loose-fitting underwear
- Preventing and/or treating sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
