Association between use of marijuana and male reproductive hormones and semen quality: a study among 1,215 healthy young men
Abstract
A total of 1,215 young Danish men aged 18-28 years were recruited between 2008 and 2012 when they attended a compulsory medical examination to determine their fitness for military service. The participants delivered a semen sample, had a blood sample drawn, and underwent a physical examination. They responded to questionnaires including information on marijuana and recreational drug use during the past 3 months (no use, use once per week or less, or use more than once per week). A total of 45% had smoked marijuana within the last 3 months. Regular marijuana smoking more than once per week was associated with a 28% (95% confidence interval (CI): -48, -1) lower sperm concentration and a 29% (95% CI: -46, -1) lower total sperm count after adjustment for confounders. The combined use of marijuana more than once per week and other recreational drugs reduced the sperm concentration by 52% (95% CI: -68, -27) and total sperm count by 55% (95% CI: -71, -31). Marijuana smokers had higher levels of testosterone within the same range as cigarette smokers. Our findings are of public interest as marijuana use is common and may be contributing to recent reports of poor semen quality.
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Previously, the authors showed that men using marijuana at least once per week had significantly lower sperm counts compared to non-users in a similar cohort recruited from 2008 to 2012.
“Previously, we have shown that men using marijuana at least once per week had significantly lower sperm counts compared to non-users in a similar cohort of men recruited from 2008 to 2012 (Gundersen et al., 2015) with no overlap between the previous and current cohort.”
From Use of e-cigarettes associated with lower sperm counts in a cross-sectional study of young men from the general population (2020) · cites this paper as Gundersen et al., 2015
Marijuana users have higher testosterone levels compared to men with no use.
“Recent studies on marijuana use and testicular function indicate that also marijuana users have higher testosterone levels compared to men with no use (Gundersen et al., 2015;Nassan et al., 2019).”
From Use of e-cigarettes associated with lower sperm counts in a cross-sectional study of young men from the general population (2020) · cites this paper as Gundersen et al., 2015
In a study of young Danish men, regular users of marijuana had a lower sperm concentration and total sperm count compared to men with no use.
“In a study of young Danish men, similar to the population in the present study but with no overlap between cohorts, regular users of marijuana had a lower sperm concentration and total sperm count compared to men with no use (Gundersen et al., 2015)”
From Use of e-cigarettes associated with lower sperm counts in a cross-sectional study of young men from the general population (2020) · cites this paper as Gundersen et al., 2015
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Gundersen, T. D., Jørgensen, N., Andersson, A.-M., Bang, A. K., Nordkap, L., Skakkebæk, N. E., Priskorn, L., Juul, A., & Jensen, T. K.
- Affiliations
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Corresponding author
- Jensen, Tina Kold
- ORCID
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-08-16
- Volume
- 182
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 473-481
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- OpenAlex
- W2149366343
- Cited by
- 225
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 15.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Program Commission on Health, Food, and Welfare
- Danish Council for Strategic Research (2101-08-0058)
- Rigshospitalet (961506336, R42-A1326)
- DEER), (212844)
- the
- Danish Ministry of Health,
- Danish Environmental Protection Agency
- Kirsten and Freddy Johansens Foundation (95-103-72087)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Keywords
- cannabis use, cannabis smoking, semen quality, sperm concentration, total sperm count, male reproductive hormones, testosterone, recreational drug use, young men
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Marijuana Abuse, Cross-Sectional Studies, Denmark, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Retrospective Studies, Sperm Count, Testosterone, Incidence, Semen Analysis, Young Adult, Reproductive Health, Healthy Volunteers
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