Abstract
There is still controversy as to how body mass index (BMI) affects male reproduction. We investigated how BMI is associated with semen quality and reproductive hormones in 166 men, including 38 severely obese men. Standard semen analysis and sperm DNA integrity analysis were performed, and blood samples were analysed for reproductive hormones. Adjusted for age and time of abstinence, BMI was negatively associated with sperm concentration (B = -0.088, P = 0.009), total sperm count (B = -0.223, P = 0.001), progressive sperm motility (B = -0.675, P = 0.007), normal sperm morphology (B = -0.078, P = 0.001), and percentage of vital spermatozoa (B = -0.006, P = 0.027). A negative relationship was observed between BMI and total testosterone (B = -0.378, P < 0.001), sex hormone binding globulin (B = -0.572, P < 0.001), inhibin B (B = -3.120, P < 0.001) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) (B = -0.009, P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that high BMI is negatively associated with semen characteristics and serum levels of AMH.
Highlights
Like worldwide, the body mass index (BMI) in the Norwegian population is increasing
We found a statistically significant negative association between BMI and serum levels of total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), inhibin B and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), while serum oestradiol levels were positively associated with BMI
There are variations in semen quality within each BMI category, we found a significant decline in all standard semen quality markers with increasing BMI
Summary
The body mass index (BMI) in the Norwegian population is increasing. Data from national public health surveys show that the proportion of overweight (BMI 25 kg/m2) and obese (BMI 30 kg/m2) adults is steadily rising, and the largest weight gain is seen in the male population [1, 2]Overweight and obesity have a negative effect on female fertility [3]. BMI and Male Reproductive Characteristics studies have indicated an increased risk of couple infertility with high male BMI [4,5,6], and disturbance of the the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis has been proposed as a mechanism for impaired fertility in overweight and obese men [7]. Studies on the relationship between BMI and sperm characteristics in men recruited from fertility clinics have reported a negative association for sperm concentration [15,16,17,18,19,20], sperm motility [16,17,18, 20] and numbers of spermatozoa with normal morphology [18, 19, 21]. Few studies have investigated DNA damage in spermatozoa and the relationship to BMI is still unclear [16, 18, 22]
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