Dietary Patterns and Poor Semen Quality Risk in Men: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The etiology of diminished sperm quality in about 30% of male infertility cases generally remains unexplained. Some studies have suggested that specific nutritional factors can affect semen quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate an association between dietary patterns (DPs) and the risk of abnormal semen quality parameters in men. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 114 men aged 20–55 years from Poland. Semen parameters were assessed via computer-aided semen. Diet was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). DPs were derived using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Two DPs were derived: Pro-healthy and Western. After adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of abnormal progressive motility was significantly higher in the middle (OR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.03–8.09) and upper (OR: 7.78, 95% CI: 1.52–15.06) tertiles of the Western DP. A trend for increased risk of the abnormal total count, progressive motility, and morphology (P-trend < 0.050) was found in Western DP. To conclude, the Western DP may increase the risk of abnormal semen parameters, whereas no association was found in the case of Pro-healthy DP. These findings stand in contrast to an increasing number of research findings indicating a positive relation between intake of healthy foods or diet and semen quality parameters. The results highlight the need to study whether modifications in diet and lifestyle factors improve semen quality.

Association of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, Physical Activity, and Their Combination with Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The procedure for assessing physical activity (PA) and sedentary time were described previously [21]. In brief, PA was evaluated by the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)-long version [22].…”

“…Details of the semen sample analysis were described previously [21]. Briefly, samples were collected at the clinic by masturbation.…”

A paternal hypercaloric diet affects the metabolism and fertility of F1 and F2 Wistar rat generations

“…The societal lifestyle alterations observed in the last decades have led to decreased male fertility. 1 Hypercaloric diets 2 and adipose tissue retention, which leads to overweight and obesity, may act negatively through either direct or indirect pathways. [3][4][5][6] Besides causing changes to the exposed generation, environmental influences may predispose descendent generations to chronic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and even behavioral disorders.…”

Diet and Nutritional Factors in Male (In)Fertility &ndash; Underestimated Factors

“…It is clear that with the spread of the Western diet model, the parameters evaluating semen quality have deteriorated [22,17]. A diet rich in processed and, according to some sources, red meat, fatty dairy, coffee, alcohol, sweet drinks and sweets, potatoes, and simultaneously deficient in whole-grain products, vegetables and fruits, poultry, fish and seafood, nuts, and lean dairy is associated with poorer semen parameters and reduced fertility [6,7,20,22].…”

“…The authors presumed that vegetables and fruits, which were rich in diet, were also a source of pesticides and pollution. In fact, pesticides and insecticides were shown to have a greater impact on the deterioration of semen quality than the beneficial effects of microelements, vitamins and antioxidants contained in vegetables and fruits [17]. This in turn suggests that it is vital to pay particular attention for a daily diet to be based on products from reliable sources.…”