Abstract
Varicocele does not always lead to infertility; varicocelectomy does not always improve sperm. The study objective to evaluate the quantitative correlation between varicocele and reproductive function with a large sample. Design a cross-sectional and case control study. Materials and methods 3632 patients from infertile couples and 276 fertile males. The ejaculate was tested following WHO recommendations (2010), DNA fragmentation was evaluated with chromatin dispersion in agarose gel. Results we found weak correlation between varicocele degree (VD) and the spermogram parameters: -0.11 for concentration ( 0.05). The clinical varicocele (V) prevalence in the fertile (F) and the infertile (I) males was the same: 27.2% (75/276) in the F, 31.4% (101/322) in the I1 with oligoasthenotertozoospermia (OAT) syndrome, 34.4% (43/125) in the I2 with OAT (p>0.05). In the general sample of the males from infertile couples V was found insignificantly more frequently in the I2 than in the I1 31.6% (426/1348) and 28.1% (641/2284), respectively (OR=1.13; p 0.05). The DNA fragmentation was significantly lower only in degree III (p 0.05). Conclusion In varicocele, the sperm count decreases but in of cases, concentration is within reference values; there is no difference between degree II and III. The sperm motility and morphology do not depend upon varicocele. The DNA fragmentation is increased in degree III varicocele. The relative risk of infertility in varicocele is low (OR is less or equal 1.13).
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