Sperm quality of Chinese PLA male officers and soldiers in hypoxia environment

Objective To study the effect of altitude-hypoxia environment on sperm quality of Chinese PLA male officers and soldiersMethods The concentration and motility of sperms,apoptosis of sperms and spermatogenic cells were detected in Chinese PLA male officers and soldiers at an altitude of 3 900m in Tibet Autonomous RegionResults The concentration and motility of sperms were lower in Chinese PLA male officers and soldiers at an altitude of 3 900m in Tibet Autonomous Region than that in permanent residents of its neighboring plains.No significant difference was observed in apoptosis of spermatogenic cells between Chinese PLA male officers and soldiers at an altitude of 3 900m in Tibet Autonomous Region and control group（4.96%±5.86% vs 4.61%±1.23%）.However,the apoptosis of sperms of Chinese PLA male officers and soldiers at an altitude of 3 900m in Tibet Autonomous Region was significantly higher than that of control group（14.92%±7.47% vs 5.32%±2.48%）,but was of no significant difference with sterile residents of its neighboring plains（14.92%±7.47% vs 19.7%±11.4%）Conclusion The altitude-hypoxia environment can decrease the concentration and motility of sperms in adult males,thus influencing the apoptosis of their sperms but not the apoptosis of their spermatogenic cells.