BOSTON (WSVN) — A new Harvard study suggests that men who use marijuana have significantly higher sperm counts than non-smokers.
According to the study, men who smoked marijuana had average sperm concentrations of 62.7 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate while men who had never smoked marijuana had average concentrations of 45.4 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate.
“These unexpected findings highlight how little we know about the reproductive health effects of marijuana, and in fact of the health effects of marijuana in general,” said Harvard professor Jorge Chavarro. “Our results need to be interpreted with caution, and they highlight the need to further study the health effects of marijuana use.”
Researchers collected 1,143 samples from 662 men between 2000 and 2017. Researchers also mentioned that 317 of the participants provided blood samples that were analyzed for reproductive hormones.
Out of the group of participants, 55 percent reported having smoked marijuana at some point. Of those, 44 percent said they smoked marijuana in the past while 11 percent classified themselves as current smokers.
Chavarro said that the findings of the study do not necessarily mean that smoking pot increases the chances of making a baby.
“An equally important limitation is the fact that most of the data were collected while cannabis was illegal in Massachusetts, so it is difficult to know to what extent men may have under-reported use of cannabis because of social stigma or potential consequences related to insurance coverage for infertility services,” Chavarro told Fox News.
To read the full study, click here.
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