A brief update on what you knew Boxer shorts better for sperm health: Study

G.S. Mudur, TT, Aug 10, 2018, New Delhi: Men concerned about their spermatozoa may consider stocking up on boxer shorts. New research released on Wednesday has suggested that men who usually wear boxer shorts have higher sperm concentrations than those who wear tighter-fitting briefs or jockeys.

Health researchers at Harvard University have found that men who primarily wore boxer shorts had on average a statistically significant 25 per cent higher sperm concentration and 33 per cent more swimming sperm than men who did not usually wear boxer shorts.

Their findings were published on Wednesday in the research journal Human Reproduction.

Earlier studies had indicated that tighter underwear, resulting in elevated scrotal temperatures, may contribute to poor sperm quality, but the results had been inconsistent. The new study used a large sample of about 650 men and is the first to investigate the link between underwear and reproductive hormones.

It has found that men who wore tighter briefs or jockeys had relatively higher blood levels of the reproductive hormone called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) that stimulates sperm production. The increased FSH may be compensatory mechanism by the body to counter the effects of the tighter underwear, the researchers said.

"Our study provides evidence that a seemingly random lifestyle choice could have profound impacts on hormone production at the level of the testis and the brain," Jorge Chavarro, an associate professor at the Harvard T C Chan School of Public Health who led the study said in a press release.

The study found that the FSH levels were 14 per cent lower in men who preferred boxer shorts compared to those who did not, after adjusting for other factors such as physical activity, smoking or preference for hot baths, that may also influence reproductive hormones.

The findings suggest that the lowered sperm concentrations and total sperm count associated with tighter underwear triggers physiological mechanisms that lead to an increase in the FSH levels.

"These results point to a relatively easy change that men can make," Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, lead author of the study said in the press release.