Association of left varicocoele with height, body mass index and sperm counts in infertile men

Abstract

SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to evaluate interrelation of left varicocoele with height, body mass index (BMI) and sperm counts. We retrospectively evaluated the data of all patients who consulted for infertility at a tertiary academic referral centre from 2000 to 2010. Patient's height, weight, BMI, semen analysis, presence or absence of varicocoele and varicocoele side and grade were evaluated. In statistical evaluations chi-square, student's t, Mann-Whitney U, ANOVA and logistic regression analyses were performed. In ANOVA analyses, Bonferroni post hoc test was performed when needed. The data of 1842 among 2780 men, presenting for infertility, were included in the study. There were 587 men (31.9%) with left varicocoele and 1255 (68.1%) men without varicocoele. Two hundred and seventy-two men (14.8%) had grade I or II, and 315 men (17.1%) had grade III varicocoeles. Mean height was 174.3 ± 6.7 and 172.5 ± 7.0 cm in men with and without varicocoele respectively (p < 0.001). The mean BMI of cases without varicocoeles (25.8 kg/m 2 ) was greater than varicocoele group (24.9 kg/m 2 ) (p < 0.001). Percentage of varicocoele was the highest in moderately oligozoospermic males and significantly higher than the men with normal sperm count. As the height increased, the probability of having varicocoele increased, and the inverse is true for BMI. If varicocoeles are a progressive lesion, perhaps taller men with varicocoeles should be followed more closely to evaluate their fertility and androgenic status.

Prevalence of varicocoele and its association with body mass index among 39,559 rural men in eastern China: a population‐based cross‐sectional study

“…Previous studies have assessed the association between varicocoele and other factors such as age, height, body mass index (BMI), lifestyle habits and occupation (Delaney et al, 2004;Handel et al, 2006;May et al, 2006;Nielsen et al, 2006;Prabakaran et al, 2006;Tsao et al, 2009;Chen & Huang, 2010;Bae et al, 2014;Shafi et al, 2014). Some studies suggested that BMI was inversely associated with the prevalence of varicocoele (Handel et al, 2006;May et al, 2006;Nielsen et al, 2006;Prabakaran et al, 2006;Tsao et al, 2009;Chen & Huang, 2010;Baek et al, 2011;Gokce et al, 2013;Rais et al, 2013), whereas other studies found no such relationship (Oster, 1971;Delaney et al, 2004;Bae et al, 2014;Shafi et al, 2014). Some studies suggested that BMI was inversely associated with the prevalence of varicocoele (Handel et al, 2006;May et al, 2006;Nielsen et al, 2006;Prabakaran et al, 2006;Tsao et al, 2009;Chen & Huang, 2010;Baek et al, 2011;Gokce et al, 2013;Rais et al, 2013), whereas other studies found no such relationship (Oster, 1971;Delaney et al, 2004;Bae et al, 2014;Shafi et al, 2014).…”

“…It is a common cause of male infertility (Miyaoka & Esteves, 2012). Population-based studies, largely school and military screening physical examination data, have shown that the prevalence of varicocoele is approximately 3.58-25.4% in the general population (Oster, 1971;Steeno et al, 1976;Stavropoulos et al, 2002;Kumanov et al, 2007;Baek et al, 2011;Rais et al, 2013;Alsaikhan et al, 2016), 21-41% in men with primary infertility and 75-81% in men with secondary infertility (World Health Organization, 1992;Gorelick & Goldstein, 1993;Jarow, 2001; Gokce et al, 2013). The prevalence varies according to the population characteristics, examination method and regions.…”

Percentage change of FSH value: new variable to predict the seminal outcome after varicocelectomy

“…Our study shows that the degree of varicocele and testicular volume are not predictive factors. Some data in the literature have found that the frequency of varicocele in the population is negatively correlated with BMI (Gokce et al, 2013) and that being overweight is a risk factor for oligoasthenospermia (Sermondade et al, 2013); our study showed that BMI is negatively correlated with the seminal outcome, but it is not a predictor of seminal outcome. The association between FSH and seminal improved outcome is controversial; some studies claim that patients with normal FSH, pre-intervention, get better results, while those with higher values have little or no room for improvement (Pasqualotto et al, 2003), and other authors say that low initial levels of FSH are associated with a better seminal outcome (Kondo et al, 2009).…”

Lower body mass index and higher height are correlated with increased varicocele risk

“…After these analyses, six studies were removed and there were 13 articles containing seven case-control studies (Chanc Walters, Marguet, & Crain, 2012;Chen & Huang, 2010;Gorur et al, 2015;Handel, Shetty, & Sigman, 2006;Kılıç et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2015;Shafi & Agajani, 2015) and six observational crosssectional studies (Gokce, Demirtas, Ozturk, Sahin, & Ekmekcioglu, 2013;Liu et al, 2017;Rais et al, 2013;Söylemez, Atar, Sancaktutar, Bozkurt, & Penbegül, 2011;Tsao et al, 2009;Yigitler, Yanardag, Silit, & Alpay, 2012) remained. Among these relevant investigations, 144 different articles were obtained without duplication.…”