Relationship between long-term use of Ritalin and semen parameters in patients referred to psychiatric centres

Andrologia. 2022 Dec;54(11):e14594. doi: 10.1111/and.14594. Epub 2022 Oct 23.

Abstract

Some studies have shown that Ritalin can interfere with the growth and development of the reproductive system and can also have a serious and harmful effect on sperm parameters, so we decided to conduct studies in this field on the human sample. In a case-control study, 100 adult men aged 21-31 years with hyperactivity were divided into two groups of 50 past users and 50 current users and, 50 patients who had not used Ritalin before were included as the control group. Data were analysed using SPSS software, version 20. Analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, and regression analysis was used to assess the correlation between variables. The results also showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the current users and the control group in terms of sperm count, abnormality, and motility (p < .47). Comparison of the user group in the past and the control group showed that there was no statistically significant difference in terms of sperm count (p < .59), but there was a significant difference in terms of sperm motility and abnormality between the two groups (p < .001). The present study showed that long-term use of Ritalin can have negative effects on sperm parameters in humans.

Keywords: ADHD; Ritalin; psychiatric; semen parameters.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Methylphenidate*
  • Semen Analysis
  • Semen*
  • Sperm Count
  • Sperm Motility
  • Spermatozoa

Substances

  • Methylphenidate