Spermiogram and sperm head morphometry assessed by multivariate cluster analysis results during adolescence

Spermiogram and sperm head morphometry assessed by multivariate cluster analysis results during adolescence (12-18 years) and the effect of varicocele.

Volunteers between 150 and 224 months of age, who had reached oigarche by 12 years old, were recruited in the area of Barranquilla, Colombia.

Genetic, environmental, and nutritional factors have a great influence on the time to reach puberty. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the age at which a particular individual will achieve his reproductive maturity, i.e., the sperm production corresponding to that of an adult.

In addition, biomedical information about the age of first conscious ejaculation (oigarche1), the presence or absence of spermatozoa in seminal fluid, the biological characteristics of spermatozoa during this maturational process, and the time required to reach adult spermatogenesis, is currently scarce and controversial.

The few studies reported on this topic correspond to adolescents under the age of 18 years and are related to different pathologies such as testicular cancer.

The main objective of this study was to investigate sperm features in adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age. These data are part of a social project carried out in Barranquilla, Colombia, directed to develop a sexual educational program because of the high teenage pregnancy rate in this area. Therefore, it is necessary to know the mean age at the onset of sperm production in adolescents from this area to provide the best counseling.

In addition, we analyzed the effect of varicocele and used morphometric data analysis to assess sperm subpopulations in human semen samples from these adolescents.

Complete article: https://proiser.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Articulo-adolescentes.pdf