Investigating the impact of the sperm DNA fragmentation index of male partners from infertile couples on in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer outcomes

Abstract

This study was aimed to elucidate the relationship between sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and semen parameters, and to investigate the impact of these parameters on in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) outcomes. The study was conducted on 159 couples undergoing IVF-ET treatment at the Department of Reproductive Health from January 2019 to October 2023. The case group was comprised of 79 patients with sperm DFI of ≥15%, and the control group had 80 patients with <15%fragmentation index. Comprehensive data on semen parameters and the reproductive outcomes were collected and analysed. Comparisons of the case and control groups depicted no significant differences in key parameters including semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, number of retrieved oocytes, rates of mature (MII) oocytes, normal fertilization, cleavage, blastocyst formation, high-quality blastocysts, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) positivity, clinical pregnancy, implantation and miscarriage (p > 0.05). However, marked differences were found in the rates of sperm progressive motility, total sperm motility, normal morphology, high-quality embryos, and transferable embryos (p < 0.05). The correlation analysis between sperm DFI and semen parameters exhibited positive correlation between sperm DFI and total sperm count (p < 0.05). The negative correlations were found between the sperm DFI and sperm progressive motility, total sperm motility, or normal morphology (p < 0.01). The findings demonstrated that incorporating sperm DFI as a standard component of semen analysis was advisable, and the sperm DFI as reference tool assisted in predicting the early embryonic development in IVF-ET patients.