Objective: To investigate the semen quality of the Chinese army men.
Methods: Ten-item sperm quality analyses were made by manual methods and the computer assisted sperm analysis system in 1054 young Chinese army men. The subjects were divided into 4 age groups (18-20 yrs., 21-25 yrs., 26-30 yrs and 31-35 yrs.), and the results of the analyses were compared.
Results: Among the 1 054 young males investigated, the semen volume was (2.6 +/- 1.4) ml, sperm density (55.9 +/- 46.5) x 10(6)/ml, sperm grade a + b motility (47.1 +/- 19.0)%, sperm viability (70.6 +/- 22.1)%, morphologically normal sperm (84.7 +/- 10.2)%, and acrosomal integrity (86.1 +/- 7.2)%. As for the percentages of the quality indexes that met WHO standards, the sperm volume was 73.5%, liquefaction time 91.1%, pH 93.0%, grade a + b motility 45.5%, viability 86.7%, sperm density 80.4%, morphologically normal sperm 98.2%, and the sperm total number 78.0%. Those who accorded with all the WHO standards accounted for 40.2%.
Conclusion: The semen quality of the 18-35 year old army men was better than previously reported in the similar literature. And that of the 26-30 yrs. group was the best among all the age groups.