Shorter Anogenital Distance Predicts Poorer Semen Quality in Young Men in Rochester, New York

Mendiola, Jaime; Stahlhut, Richard W.; Jørgensen, Niels; Liu, Fan; Swan, Shanna H.

doi:10.1289/ehp.1103421

Cited by 192 publications

(200 citation statements)

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“…Mendiola et al found a positive linear relationship between sperm concentration and AGD in college aged men. [9] A similar association among an older cohort presenting to a urology clinic was also demonstrated. [8] Examining infertile men, it was shown that a longer AGD suggests improved varicocelectomy outcomes and a lower likelihood of spermatogenic failure in azoospermic men.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…[4][5][6][7] Human studies have also linked adult testicular function, as assessed by sperm and testosterone production, to AGD. [8][9][10] As AGD seems to be constant across a man's adult life, the clinical utility of AGD has been suggested in studies of infertile men. [11] AGD is shorter in men with spermatogenic failure compared to genital duct obstruction in men presenting with azoospermia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anogenital distance as a measure of human male fertility

Lipshultz

2014

J Assist Reprod Genet

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Purpose In humans, recent studies have correlated anogenital distance (AGD) in adult men to testicular function. While studies of a group of men suggest an association, the utility of AGD in an infertility evaluation remains uncertain. We sought to determine the utility of AGD to predict male fertility. Methods Between 2010 and 2011, men were recruited at a urology clinic to participate. AGD was measured using digital calipers in men being evaluated at a urology clinic. ANOVA and ROC analyses were used to determine correlations between AGD, fatherhood status, and semen parameters. Results In all, 473 men were included in the analysis with a mean age of 43±13 years. Anogenital distance was significantly longer in men with higher sperm concentration, total sperm count, and total motile sperm count. In order to evaluate the discriminating ability of AGD, ROC curves were created comparing AGD and total testis volume. The area under the curve (AUC) was significantly larger for total testis volume compared to AGD when evaluating fertility (0.71 vs 0.63, p= 0.02). Similarly, there was a trend towards a higher AUC for testis volume compared to AGD for sperm concentration and total sperm count. Stratification of men with long/short AGD and large/small testes also did not improve the predictive value of AGD. Conclusions While AGD is associated with sperm production on a population level, at the individual level the distinction based AGD alone cannot accurately estimate the efficiency of spermatogenesis.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anogenital distance as a measure of human male fertility

Lipshultz

2014

J Assist Reprod Genet

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“…In human men, reduced anogenital distance is associated with reduced fertility and may be associated with cryptorchidism (Hsieh et al, 2008;Eisenberg et al, 2011) and reduced semen quality (Mendiola et al, 2011). In this study, ANO was longer in the males from Companion sows than males from Mixed sows and tended to be longer in the males from Companion sows than males from Stable sows.…”

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confidence: 47%

Growth and reproductive development of male piglets are more vulnerable to midgestation maternal stress than that of female piglets12

Mack

Lay

Eicher

et al. 2014

Journal of Animal Science

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In many mammalian species, prenatal stress masculinizes female and feminizes male offspring impairing their reproductive capacity. Regrouping gestating sows is a common, stressful production practice, but its impact on the developing pigs of the sow is not fully known. This study examined the effects of regrouping gestating sows and the administration of exogenous glucocorticoids on the growth and external reproductive morphology of pigs. At 37.2 ± 0.26 d of gestation, 6 cohorts of 18 sows (N = 108) were placed in 1 of 3 treatments: socially stable (Stable), hydrocortisone acetate (HCA), or mixed (Mixed). The HCA sows were administered 70 mg HCA, a synthetic glucocorticoid, twice daily during the 21 d experimental period. Each Mixed sow was penned with 2 companion sows (Companion) and regrouped on d 7 and 14 with 2 different Companion sows in a new pen. Stable and HCA sows were penned in treatment groups of 3 sows. Sow social rank was assessed weekly during feeding. After the 21 d experimental period, all sows were housed in gestation stalls for the duration of pregnancy. During the 21 d, Companion sows gained more weight than HCA and Mixed sows (P < 0.05) with Stable sows intermediate. High ranked sows gained more weight than middle and low ranked sows (P < 0.05). Mixed sows had greater head lesion scores than Stable and HCA sows (P < 0.05) with Companion sows intermediate. Head lesions increased with lower social rank (P < 0.001). Sow treatment did not affect farrowing rate, litter size, or sex ratio (P > 0.10). Social rank also had no effect on farrowing rate (P > 0.10), but affected total litter size (P = 0.03). High ranked sows bore and weaned more live females than low ranked sows (P < 0.05), in part due to differential preweaning mortality among female pigs (P = 0.01). Only male pigs were affected by sow treatment. Preweaning mortality was higher among male pigs from HCA than from Mixed sows (P = 0.04) with other treatments intermediate. Despite no weight differences in the preweaning period, at 160 d of age males from HCA sows weighed more than males from Stable sows (P = 0.01) with other treatments intermediate. Males born to Companion sows had longer relative anogenital distances, a marker of fetal testosterone exposure, than males from Mixed sows (P = 0.03) with other treatments intermediate. The prenatal environment affected the pigs in a sex-specific manner altering the growth and reproductive morphology of the males more than that of the females. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. middle and low ranked sows (P < 0.05). Mixed sows had greater head lesion scores than Stable and HCA sows (P < 0.05) with Companion sows intermediate. Head lesions increased with lower social rank (P < 0.001). Sow treatment did not affect farrowing rate, litter size, or sex ratio (P > 0.10). Social rank also had no effect on farrowing rate (P > 0.10), but affected total litte...

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“…hypospadias and cryptorchidism, establishing a link between normal genital development and perineal length in humans. Recent data has shown that AGD is also related to fatherhood, fertility and adult sperm production [ 8,9 ] . Thus, AGD may refl ect the spermatogenic potential of the testis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between anogenital distance and the efficacy of varicocele repair

et al. 2012

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E 9 2 7What ' s known on the subject? and What does the study add? Anogenital distance (AGD) is a marker of genital development and adult testicular function. To date, there is no data on the clinical utility of using such an anthropomorphic variable. About 30% of men will have no improvement in semen parameters after varicocele repair. It is currently diffi cult to assess which patients are most likely to benefi t from surgical repair. The present study showed that men with a longer AGD had a higher likelihood of improvement after varicocelectomy. As such, AGD may allow clinicians to better counsel men on the effi cacy of varicocele repair. OBJECTIVE• To investigate whether anogenital distance (AGD) can identify men most likely to show improved semen parameters after varicocele ligation, as AGD has been shown to correlate with intrinsic adult testicular function. PATIENTS AND METHODS• Men with varicoceles who were evaluated at a men ' s reproductive health clinic in Houston were recruited.• AGD (the distance from the posterior aspect of the scrotum to the anal verge) was measured using digital callipers.• Logistic regression was used to compare outcomes after stratifying men based on AGD. RESULTS• In all, 46 men with a mean ( SD ) age of 33.1 (6.3) years with postoperative semen data were recruited.• Semen concentration, motility, and total motile sperm count all showed signifi cant improvement postoperatively ( P < 0.01).• While 48% of men with a shorter AGD had improvements in sperm concentration postoperatively, 84% of men with a longer AGD improved ( P = 0.01).• There was a trend toward a lower percentage of men (62% vs 84%) with shorter AGDs showing improvements in total motile sperm count ( P = 0.09). CONCLUSION• AGD may provide a novel metric to assess intrinsic testicular function and predict effi cacy of varicocele repair.

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Shorter Anogenital Distance Predicts Poorer Semen Quality in Young Men in Rochester, New York

Cited by 192 publications

References 30 publications

Anogenital distance as a measure of human male fertility

Anogenital distance as a measure of human male fertility

Growth and reproductive development of male piglets are more vulnerable to midgestation maternal stress than that of female piglets12

The relationship between anogenital distance and the efficacy of varicocele repair

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