5 ms·

Did I read that right? Sperm counts increased by 420%?

by taf2 8y ago

pseudolus 8y ago
From the article: Analysis of the semen samples showed that men who had smoked marijuana had average sperm concentrations of 62.7 million sperm per millilitre (million/mL). Those who had never smoked a joint had an average count of 45.4 million/mL.
- vinay427 8y ago
  I believe the GP was making a joke in reference to the number 420 and its association with "cannabis culture," as Wikipedia refers to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)
morpheuskafka 8y ago
They didn't increase, they were higher by. Increase would imply correlation, which would require a rigorous, controlled intervention al trial. This study was simply a self-reported survey attempting to correlate past marijuana abuse with sperm counts, making it hard to control a number of factors such as honesty of self-reporting, exact historical use patterns, and representativity (the fact that 55% of respondents used an illegal drug when no attempt was made to generate such a high figure, when only 9.4% of the >12yo American population uses any illegal drugs, should be a warning that there may be external correlating factors not controlled for) of the general population. Most importantly, though, the study didn't actually measure the marijuana used, because it's an observational study and it's just measuring past use. You'd need to get the UMiss official research marijuana, and use a fixed dosing protocol over the interventional group, to make a claim about how much sperm counts increased as a result of marijuana use. As the study notes, it's equally possible that high testosterone levels may predispose one to marijuana abuse, or that there is no causal link at all. Interesting and valid paper, but it does not justify any claims of A increasing B.
- mbay 8y ago
  "the fact that 55% of respondents used an illegal drug when no attempt was made to generate such a high figure, when only 9.4% of the >12yo American population uses any illegal drugs, should be a warning that there may be external correlating factors not controlled for" Do you think that middle aged men without children smoke weed at the same rate as the group you described?
- meritt 8y ago
  > "marijuana abuse" > "illegal drug" Holy fucking bias. 1) There's nothing to support that the study participants were abusing marijuana 2) Medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996 and numerous other states until recreational legalization began in 2012. This study was conducted from 2000 - 2017 so it stands to reason that many of these users were completely legal under their state jurisdiction at the time. Obviously it's been illegal on a federal level the entire time. 3) The 55% is the percentage that had ever used it. A study by the National Institute of Health [1] conducted in 2017 found that 45.20% of the 12yr+ respondents said they had used it at least once in their lifetime (and 52.7% of the 18-26 cohort). I'm not even here to defend whether or not this study in particular is rigorous or not, but you need to drop the 1971 War on Drugs propaganda. [1] https://www.drugabuse.gov/national-survey-drug-use-health https://www.drugabuse.gov/national-survey-drug-use-health
  - toxik 8y ago
    This was likely in MA, not CA. It is marijuana abuse because it’s illegal to use.
    - meritt 8y ago
      1) People can travel between states, or even to other countries, during a lifetime. 2) MA legalized medical usage in 2013. 3) "Drug abuse" has nothing to do with the legality of the substance. It's whether or not the substance impairs the individual and that it was used for non-medicinal purposes.
    - mzybert 8y ago

Did I read that right? Sperm counts increased by 420%?

by taf2 8y ago

Did I read that right? Sperm counts increased by 420%?

From the article: Analysis of the semen samples showed that men who had smoked marijuana had average sperm concentrations of 62.7 million sperm per millilitre (million/mL). Those who had never smoked a joint had an average count of 45.4 million/mL.

vinay427 8y ago
I believe the GP was making a joke in reference to the number 420 and its association with "cannabis culture," as Wikipedia refers to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)

morpheuskafka 8y ago

They didn't increase, they were higher by. Increase would imply correlation, which would require a rigorous, controlled intervention al trial. This study was simply a self-reported survey attempting to correlate past marijuana abuse with sperm counts, making it hard to control a number of factors such as honesty of self-reporting, exact historical use patterns, and representativity (the fact that 55% of respondents used an illegal drug when no attempt was made to generate such a high figure, when only 9.4% of the >12yo American population uses any illegal drugs, should be a warning that there may be external correlating factors not controlled for) of the general population. Most importantly, though, the study didn't actually measure the marijuana used, because it's an observational study and it's just measuring past use. You'd need to get the UMiss official research marijuana, and use a fixed dosing protocol over the interventional group, to make a claim about how much sperm counts increased as a result of marijuana use. As the study notes, it's equally possible that high testosterone levels may predispose one to marijuana abuse, or that there is no causal link at all. Interesting and valid paper, but it does not justify any claims of A increasing B.

mbay 8y ago
"the fact that 55% of respondents used an illegal drug when no attempt was made to generate such a high figure, when only 9.4% of the >12yo American population uses any illegal drugs, should be a warning that there may be external correlating factors not controlled for" Do you think that middle aged men without children smoke weed at the same rate as the group you described?
meritt 8y ago
> "marijuana abuse" > "illegal drug" Holy fucking bias. 1) There's nothing to support that the study participants were abusing marijuana 2) Medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996 and numerous other states until recreational legalization began in 2012. This study was conducted from 2000 - 2017 so it stands to reason that many of these users were completely legal under their state jurisdiction at the time. Obviously it's been illegal on a federal level the entire time. 3) The 55% is the percentage that had ever used it. A study by the National Institute of Health [1] conducted in 2017 found that 45.20% of the 12yr+ respondents said they had used it at least once in their lifetime (and 52.7% of the 18-26 cohort). I'm not even here to defend whether or not this study in particular is rigorous or not, but you need to drop the 1971 War on Drugs propaganda. [1] https://www.drugabuse.gov/national-survey-drug-use-health https://www.drugabuse.gov/national-survey-drug-use-health
- toxik 8y ago
  This was likely in MA, not CA. It is marijuana abuse because it’s illegal to use.
  - meritt 8y ago
    1) People can travel between states, or even to other countries, during a lifetime. 2) MA legalized medical usage in 2013. 3) "Drug abuse" has nothing to do with the legality of the substance. It's whether or not the substance impairs the individual and that it was used for non-medicinal purposes.
  - mzybert 8y ago