Chirkina provided alarming data from the World Health Organization: in 1980, a man was considered reproductively healthy with up to 80 million live sperm in one milliliter of semen. However, by the 1990s, this figure had dropped to 40 million, and today the minimum acceptable norm is only 20 million. This means that over a few decades, the number of sperm has decreased fourfold. A count below 10 million significantly increases the risk of infertility," she explained.
Chirkina also emphasized that this refers only to healthy sperm that do not have structural and functional abnormalities.
Another important topic raised by the expert was the sexual and reproductive education of boys. Galina Chirkina noted that this aspect receives much less attention than the similar process for girls. In her opinion, there is a mistaken belief that boys "intuitively" understand how to take care of their health and build intimate relationships.
She also reported that in Kyrgyzstan, every May, Men's Health Week is held, organized by the National Urology Center, during which men have the opportunity to undergo free examinations and receive consultations. At one such event, 1,372 men were examined, and almost 10% of them were found to have various pathologies.
Chirkina provided data from a clinic that works with youth at a student polyclinic: during a preventive examination of 929 young people, 622 cases of urethritis, 139 cases of orchitis, 74 cases of phimosis, and 94 cases of varicocele were identified. "These are young, active people," she added.
As for other problems faced by young men, these include hydrocele of the testicular membranes, cryptorchidism, scrotal pain, hormonal disorders, and sexually transmitted infections. One of the most common pathologies is varicocele, which occurs in 15–20% of young men aged 12 to 25 years. It is recommended that this problem be addressed in a medical facility, as it can lead to infertility. Varicocele is observed in 40% of men with infertility," Chirkina clarified.
Cryptorchidism, or undescended testicle, is also a serious problem that can cause infertility if not diagnosed and corrected in a timely manner.
According to her, the absence of a testicle in the scrotum is observed in 2-4% of full-term newborns, 15-30% of premature infants, and 1% of boys under one year old.
Although hydrocele of the testicular membranes is less common, it can also be a cause of male infertility.
Chirkina concluded that it is necessary to create a culture of consulting specialists and to explain from an early age how the male reproductive system functions, as well as to speak openly about men's health. "Unfortunately, today we do not discuss these issues enough. We need to talk about them more often and professionally, to prevent diseases rather than treat their consequences," she concluded.
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