Male obesity and age in relationship to semen parameters and sperm chromatin integrity

Abstract

Obesity can adversely affect human health, including fertility. While obesity can disturb the hormonal profile of the female organism and is associated with fertility loss, little is known about what effect male obesity has on fertility. The present study analysed sperm samples of 153 donors. The men were selected from couples attending an infertility clinic, who had tried for 12 months or more to achieve pregnancy without success. The age of the men under investigation was recorded, and their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. All semen samples were assessed for volume, concentration, motility and morphology. Sperm chromatin integrity was measured by sperm chromatin structure assay. Quality of sperm chromatin condensation was assessed by toluidine blue, aniline blue and chromomycin A3 staining. We can conclude that the impact of elevated BMI on the parameters investigated (basic semen parameters, chromatin integrity and chromatin condensation) was not proven in this study. On the other hand, ejaculate quality appeared to be affected by ageing. The impact was reflected by chromatin integrity, which is a factor that can substantially affect fertility in men, rather than by basic sperm parameters.

Age-related changes in quality and fertility of porcine semen

“…Considering that this phenomenon has been extensively studied in humans, these results are in agreement with previous studies that reported a higher DNA fragmentation in aged men (Wyrobek et al, 2006;Rybar et al, 2011). It is known that aging induces apoptosis in the epididymis, which seems to be caused by the fall of testosterone levels and is probably related to an increase of oxidative stress in tissues (Jara et al, 2004).…”

Diet-induced obesity alters kinematics of rat spermatozoa

“…Jensen et al [16] reported decreased sperm counts in obese normozoospermic men compared to non-obese fertile subjects. Interestingly, Rybar et al [17] found no significant relationship between mean BMI and standard semen parameters.…”

Correlation between body mass index and semen quality in male infertility patients

“…The rate of normal sperm morphology did not differ in any of the groups (12). Nevertheless, Rybar et al (13) reported that an elevated BMI did not have an influence on basic semen parameters. Mal-Ali et al (13) concluded that BMI did not have an independent influence on sperm quality parameters based on a multivariable analysis.…”

“…Nevertheless, Rybar et al (13) reported that an elevated BMI did not have an influence on basic semen parameters. Mal-Ali et al (13) concluded that BMI did not have an independent influence on sperm quality parameters based on a multivariable analysis. Our finding that BMI has an impact on sperm motility but no impact on sperm morphology is in agreement with Sekhavat et al (12).…”

“…Rybar et al (13) and Eskandar et al (23) concluded that there is a negative correlation between age and sperm motility. They also found that age had an impact on sperm concentration, motility, and semen quality.…”