2283 CONCORDANCE AMONG SPERM DNA INTEGRITY ASSAYS AND SEMEN PARAMETERS

Abstract

tin structure assay, % of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive sperm, and total motile sperm count (TMSC) were available for 392, 139, and 431 men, respectively. Uniand multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of DFI, TUNEL and TMSC. Varicocele grade and all factors with p-values .10 on univariate analyses were included in the multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Results of univariate analyses for all variables are in Table 1. Results of the multivariate analyses are as follows. The number of daily cigarettes was positively correlated with DFI (p .002) and there was a trend towards positive correlation with TUNEL (p .06). DFI increased by 0.5% and TUNEL increased by 0.3% for each additional daily cigarette. The number of alcoholic drinks consumed weekly was negatively correlated with DFI (p .02) and TUNEL (p .02). DFI decreased by 0.3% and TUNEL decreased by 0.4% for each additional weekly drink. Age was also independently correlated with DFI (p .0003) and TUNEL (p .03). Each additional year of age was associated with 0.5% and 0.2% increases in DFI and TUNEL, respectively. Average testicular size was positively correlated with TUNEL (p .05). No other factors were significantly correlated with DFI or TUNEL. TMSC was correlated with FSH (p .04) and average testicular size (p .02) but not with cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, age, or any of the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and age are independently correlated with sperm DNA damage but not TMSC, indicating subtle effects on semen quality that may go undetected during standard andrological evaluation. Reduction of smoking and moderate alcohol consumption may be useful behavioral modifications in subfertile men. The surprising inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and sperm DNA damage warrants further study.