Overtraining affects male reproductive status
Open accessAbstract
Objective To substantiate the hypothesis that strenuous exercise disrupts the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in men. Design Longitudinal study. Setting Normal human volunteers in an academic research environment. Patients Five endurance-trained men (maximum oxygen consumption 65.4 +/- 3.6 mL/kg per minute [means +/- SEM]) with normal spermatogenic and hormonal profiles. Interventions Semen and blood samples were collected bimonthly before, immediately after, and 3 months after overtraining, which was defined as twice the previous average weekly training volume with unchanged intensity. Main outcome measure Testosterone, cortisol, and sperm concentration. Results Basal T levels decreased to 5.37 +/- 67 ng/mL from 8.68 +/- 93 ng/mL (conversion factor to SI unit, 3.47) immediately after overtraining and basal cortisol levels increased to 215.3 +/- 31 ng/mL from 145.7 +/- 27 ng/mL (conversion factor to SI unit, 2.76). This inverse relationship was highly correlated (r = -0.92). Both cortisol and T levels returned to pretraining values 3 months after resumption of previous training volume. Sperm count (91 +/- 23.3 x 10(6)) decreased significantly by 43% immediately after overtraining (52 +/- 6.8 x 10(6)) and by 52% 3 months after overtraining (44.5 +/- 20 x 10(6)). However, all values remained within normal range and would not be expected to affect fertility. Conclusions Our results indicate that overtraining reduces T levels, which is highly correlated with an increase in le…
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Problematic LEA can occur in male athletes and is associated with negative effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and associated hormones; changes in metabolic hormones; impairments to immune function; detriments to bone health; negative performance outcomes and decreased lean body mass accrual.
“Nevertheless, problematic LEA can occur in male athletes and is associated with negative effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and associated hormones 72 92-100 ; changes in metabolic hormones 46 101-103 ; impairments to immune function 104 ; detriments to bone health 105 ; as well as negative performance outcomes 18 90 104 106 and decreased lean body mass accrual.107”
From 2023 international olympic committee's (IOC) consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) (2023) · cites this paper as [93]
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- Authors
- Roberts, A. C., McClure, R. D., Weiner, R. I., & Brooks, G. A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- ORCID
- Brooks, George A.
- Venue
- Fertility and Sterility
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1993-10
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 686-692
- ISSN
- 0015-0282 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W23255181
- Cited by
- 96
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 1.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Fertility and Sterility (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
- Keywords
- overtraining, male reproductive function, testosterone, cortisol, sperm concentration, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, endurance training, male fertility
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Osmolar Concentration, Physical Education and Training, Reproduction, Sex Characteristics, Sperm Count, Testosterone, Time Factors
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