Psychological Stress and Male Infertility: Oxidative Stress as the Common Downstream Pathway.

Plain-language summary

This review looked at how psychological stress might affect male fertility through oxidative stress. It synthesized animal studies and human observational data to explore the link between stress, oxidative damage, and sperm health. The animal studies showed that chronic stress can disrupt hormone balance, increase oxidative stress, and harm sperm production and function. While human studies found associations between stress and poorer sperm quality, the evidence is mostly observational and cannot prove cause and effect.

Key findings

• Chronic stress activates pathways that increase oxidative stress.
• Oxidative stress can harm sperm production and function.
• Animal studies show clear links, but human evidence is observational.