Background: Cigarette smoking is a broadly recognized health hazard and a major cause of mortality but still people continue to smoke cigarettes on a regular basis. Tobacco has numerous carcinogens and mutagens which have deleterious effects on human beings. Effect of carcinogens has been observed to be more on rapidly dividing cells which include germ cells. The maximum prevalence of smoking is observed in young adult males in the reproductive period.
Aims and objectives: To compare different seminal fluid parameters among smoker and non-smoke, to know the effect of cigarette smoking on sperm counts, motility and morphology, and the difference in seminal fluid variables between smokers and non – smokers.
Patients and Methods: The case - control study performed from May 2015 to December 2015 carried in laboratory of Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil city and a questionnaire prepared for each case. Only patients with primary infertility, who were either smokers or strict non-smokers, were selected and the non - smoker considered as control group. The selected study group of 100 smokers and 100 strict non - smokers had only one known factor which differentiated them, i.e. cigarette smoking and the duration of smoking was determined by 5 years. A semen specimen was collected after 3days of abstinence period, in a wide – mouth, clean and sterile container. All semen samples were analyses for semen parameters: liquefaction time, volume, viscosity, motility, sperm concentration, morphology and number of pus cells in the sample.
Results: The mean age of both non –smoker and smoker were 33.28 and 34.89 years respectively with maximum and minimum age were22and 45years respectively with the mean duration of infertility for smoker 6.85 years and for the non-smoker was 7.24 years. There were a significant difference in seminal fluid parameters which includes the Ph, viscosity, sperm count, sperm motility, morphology and pus cells in seminal fluid between the smoker and non - smoker while there were no significant difference in volume. There was significant difference between the two groups regarding seminal fluid variable which includes (Normozoospermia, Asthenozoospermia, Oligoasthenozoospermia, Oligoasthenteratospermia Asthenoteratospermia, Teratizoospermia and Oligozoospermia) with p value (P<0.000).
Conclusions: The smoking has bad effect on seminal fluid parameters and there was a difference between the two groups and the smoking can affect and reduce the fertility of the male. Smoking can be a cause of infertility in males especially those with idiopathic infertility.