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Effects of Lifestyle Exposure and Body Mass Index on Sperm Quality Parameters of Fertile Men.
Citation:
Lavelle, K. S., A. F. Olshan, A. H. Herring, A. M. Siega-Riz, D. A. Savitz, AND S P. DARNEY. Effects of Lifestyle Exposure and Body Mass Index on Sperm Quality Parameters of Fertile Men. Presented at American Society of Andrology, Philadelphia, PA, April 04 - 07, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
To present at ASA conference
Description:
Spermatogenesis is vulnerable to disruption. Some sperm quality studies have reported unfavorable trends in male reproductive health indicators, and lifestyle exposures (LE) and excess body adiposity have been among the factors implicated. LE (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and caffeine intake) have been evaluated in previous epidemiologic sperm studies, typically among men attending infertility clinics, but results of these studies have been inconsistent. Excess body fat, as measured by body mass index (BMI), is associated with many adverse health conditions, however, relatively few studies have examined BMI and sperm quality. Here we explored the potential associations between these four exposures and multiple sperm quality measures among fertile men. We analyzed standard measures of testicular function (sperm count, concentration, and morphology), as well as Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay measures of DNA integrity (%DFI) and sperm maturity (%HDS), from a community sample of 229 fertile men 18 to 40 years of age. A telephone interview was used to obtain data on LE and potential confounders. We used multiple linear and logistic regression to assess the relationship between LE, BMI and the five sperm outcomes. In this group of fertile men, sperm quality was generally good: sperm count (348 ± 296) million/mL, percent normal morphology (14 ± 6), %DFI (19 ± 12) and %HDS (8 ± 5) (mean ± standard deviation). Results did not reveal significant decrements in sperm outcomes related to smoking status (current, former, never) or BMI, after confounder adjustment. Unexpectedly, former smokers had significantly lower proportions of immature sperm cells compared to non-smokers (-2.8%; 95% Confidence Limits (CL): -4.7%, -0.9%), and obese men (BMI ≥ 30) exhibited, on average, higher sperm concentrations than men of normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9) (16.2%; 95% CL: 2.0%, 32.3%). Sperm outcomes were generally more favorable among alcohol.