Associations between dietary patterns and semen quality in men undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment

Abstract

BACKGROUND This study investigates whether dietary patterns, substantiated by biomarkers, are associated with semen quality. METHODS In 161 men of subfertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment in a tertiary referral clinic in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, we assessed nutrient intakes and performed principal component factor analysis to identify dietary patterns. Total homocysteine (tHcy), folate, vitamin B12 and B6 were measured in blood and seminal plasma. Semen quality was assessed by sperm volume, concentration, motility, morphology and DNA fragmentation index (DFI). Linear regression models analyzed associations between dietary patterns, biomarkers and sperm parameters, adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, vitamins and varicocele. RESULTS The 'Health Conscious' dietary pattern shows high intakes of fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains. The 'Traditional Dutch' dietary pattern is characterized by high intakes of meat, potatoes and whole grains and low intakes of beverages and sweets. The 'Health Conscious' diet was inversely correlated with tHcy in blood (beta = -0.07, P = 0.02) and seminal plasma (beta = -1.34, P = 0.02) and positively with vitamin B6 in blood (beta = 0.217, P = 0.01). An inverse association was demonstrated between the 'Health Conscious' diet and DFI (beta = -2.81, P = 0.05). The 'Traditional Dutch' diet was positively correlated with red blood cell folate (beta = 0.06, P = 0.04) and sperm concentration (beta = 13.25, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The 'Health Conscious' and 'Traditional Dutch' dietary pattern seem to be associated with semen quality in men of subfertile couples.

Dietary patterns and semen quality in young men

“…The findings presented here are not entirely consistent with a similar study performed among subfertile men attending an in vitro fertilization clinic in the Netherlands (Vujkovic et al, 2009). In the latter study, the authors found a positive association between adherence to a 'Traditional Dutch' diet and sperm concentration and an inverse association between adherence to a 'Health Conscious' diet and DNA fragmentation index.…”

Processed Meat Intake Is Unfavorably and Fish Intake Favorably Associated with Semen Quality Indicators among Men Attending a Fertility Clinic

“…A study in Spain found that intake of processed red meats was ;31% higher among oligoasthenoteratospermic men than among controls but did not find any difference in fish intake between cases and controls (13). Another study in the Netherlands found that fish and other seafood was associated with higher sperm motility (14). A third study among subfertile men in Iran found that the odds of asthenospermia was higher among men consuming the highest amounts of processed red meat compared with those consuming the lowest amounts, but lower among men in the highest tertile of fish and other seafood intake compared with those in the first tertile of intake (16).…”

“…The existing literature on the relation between meat intake and semen quality indicators is scarce and limited to crosssectional and case-control studies (13)(14)(15)(16)(17). We have previously reported that processed meat intake is associated with lower total sperm count among physically active healthy young men (17).…”

The roles of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in idiopathic male infertility

“…2 One of the reasons for the impaired semen parameters over the years is dietary factors. 3,4 The significant effects of dietary fatty acids (FAs) on male fertility have been well documented both in animal and human studies. 5,6 There are three types of natural FAs: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.…”