title: Correlation between sperm motility and sperm chromatin structure assay parameters.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between chromatin structure and sperm motility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scanian Andrology Centre, Malmö, Sweden; ENEA Casaccia, Rome, Italy; and Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred seventy-one males from Danish first pregnancy planner couples (group 1) and 278 Swedish military conscripts (group 2).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameters, DNA fragmentation index (DFI), high DNA stainable (HDS), and sperm motility, which was evaluated manually and by use of computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A statistically significant negative correlation between DFI and the CASA percentage of motile sperms (group 1: r = -0.53; group 2: r = -0.38) was found. For the manual motility assessment, the correlation coefficients were slightly lower. Furthermore, HDS correlated negatively with CASA sperm motility (group 1: r = -0.39; group 2: r = -0.36) and percentage of World Health Organization category A motile sperm. In multiple linear regression analysis, concentration and SCSA parameters, but not the time of abstinence, were statistically significant predictors of sperm motility.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a moderate correlation between sperm motility and SCSA parameters. The study supports the assumption that both SCSA and motility can be relatively independent predictors of male fertility.
authors.affiliation: Fertility Centre and Department of Urology, Scanian Andrology Center, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden. aleksander.giwercman@kir.mas.lu.se
authors.forename: Aleksander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giwercman
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richthoff
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hjøllund
authors.forename: Jens Peter
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bonde
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jepson
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frohm
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spano
mesh_terms: D002843:Chromatin / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D018579:Patient Selection; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004247:DNA