Overweight and seminal quality: a study in 794 patients.

MARTINI AC; TISSERA AD; ESTOFÁN D; MOLINA RI; MANGEAUD A; FIOL DE CUNEO M; RUIZ RD

FERTILITY AND STERILITY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC

Año: 2010 vol. 94 p. 1739 - 1743

0015-0282

Objectives: to evaluate sperm quality, levels of markers of epididymal and accessory gland function, and testosterone in semen from men grouped according to their BMI. Design: blind prospective study. Setting: Andrology and Reproduction Laboratory in Cordoba, Argentina (between 2006-2007). Patients: 794 men. Interventions: none. Main outcome measures: in semen samples, sperm quality (volume, density, motility, morphology, viability, HOS and nuclear maturity) and levels of neutral alpha-glucosidase (NAG), fructose, citric acid and testosterone. Results: multivariate analysis showed a negative association between BMI and motility, rapid motility and NAG levels, and a positive association between BMI and seminal fructose levels. No associations were found neither between BMI and sperm concentration or the other parameters evaluated, nor in seminal testosterone levels. Conclusions: results found in our study support a deleterious impact of obesity upon seminal quality, probably by alterations in the function of the epididymis, i.e. in epididymal maturation.