Findings from cohort of young Danish men show supplement linked to higher semen volume, testicular size
TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For young men, fish oil supplement intake is associated with better testicular function, according to a study published online Jan. 17 in JAMA Network Open.
Tina Kold Jensen, Ph.D., from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving young, healthy Danish men to determine whether ω-3 fatty acid supplements are associated with testicular function as measured by semen quality and reproductive hormone levels.
Overall, 5.8 percent of the 1,679 young men reported use of fish oil supplements during the past three months; 54.1 percent reported intake on 60 or more days. The researchers found that men with fish oil supplement intake on fewer than 60 days had semen volume that was 0.38 mL higher than men with no supplement intake, while those with supplement intake on 60 days or more had semen volume that was 0.64 mL higher after adjustment. Compared with men with no supplement intake, those with supplement intake on fewer than 60 days and 60 or more days had testicular size that was 0.8 and 1.5 mL higher, respectively. Compared with men with no supplement intake, those with fish oil supplement intake had a 20 and 16 percent lower follicle-stimulating hormone level and luteinizing hormone level, respectively, after adjustment.
“Our findings need to be confirmed in well-designed randomized clinical trials among unselected men or in large prospective cohort studies,” the authors write.
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