Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Male Fertility Potential: A Narrative Review

Alcohol abuse disorder is a serious condition, implicating more than 15 million people aged 12 years and older in 2019 in the United States. Ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) is mainly oxidized in the liver, resulting in the synthesis of acetaldehyde and acetate, which are toxic and carcinogenic metabolite...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-12, Vol.19 (1), p.328
Main Authors: Finelli, Renata, Mottola, Filomena, Agarwal, Ashok
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abuse
Acetaldehyde
Acetic acid
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects
Alcohol use
Alcoholic beverages
Alcoholism
Alcohols
Animals
Beverages
Body fat
Carcinogens
Cardiac arrhythmia
Cytochrome
Dehydrogenases
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Drug abuse
Enzymes
Epigenetics
Esters
Ethanol
Ethanol - toxicity
Ethyl esters
Fatty acids
Fertility
Genotoxicity
Humans
Impact damage
Infertility
Inflammation
Lipids
Liver
Male
Males
Metabolism
Metabolites
Nervous system
Offspring
Oxidation
Oxidative stress
Review
Reviews
Semen
Semen Analysis
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Summary:Alcohol abuse disorder is a serious condition, implicating more than 15 million people aged 12 years and older in 2019 in the United States. Ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) is mainly oxidized in the liver, resulting in the synthesis of acetaldehyde and acetate, which are toxic and carcinogenic metabolites, as well as in the generation of a reductive cellular environment. Moreover, ethanol can interact with lipids, generating fatty acid ethyl esters and phosphatidylethanol, which interfere with physiological cellular pathways. This narrative review summarizes the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on male fertility by describing its metabolism and how ethanol consumption may induce cellular damage. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol consumption on hormonal regulation, semen quality, and genetic and epigenetic regulations is discussed based on evidence from animal and human studies, focusing on the consequences on the offspring. Finally, the limitations of the current evidence are discussed. Our review highlights the association between chronic alcohol consumption and poor semen quality, mainly due to the development of oxidative stress, as well as its genotoxic impact on hormonal regulation and DNA integrity, affecting the offspring's health. New landscapes of investigation are proposed for the identification of molecular markers for alcohol-associated infertility, with a focus on advanced OMICS-based approaches applied to the analysis of semen samples.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph19010328