title: Dairy intake and semen quality among men attending a fertility clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between dairy food intake and semen parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic medical center fertility clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred fifty-five men.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total sperm count, sperm concentration, progressive motility, morphology, and semen volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low-fat dairy intake was positively related to sperm concentration and progressive motility. On average, men in the highest quartile of intake (1.22-3.54 servings/d) had 33% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1, 55) higher sperm concentration and 9.3 percentage units (95% CI 1.4, 17.2) higher sperm motility than men in the lowest quartile of intake (≤0.28 servings/d). These associations were primarily explained by intake of low-fat milk. The corresponding results for low-fat milk were 30% (95% CI 1, 51) higher sperm concentration and 8.7 percentage units (95% CI 3.0, 14.4) higher sperm motility. Cheese intake was associated with lower sperm concentration among ever-smokers. In this group, men in the highest tertile of intake (0.82-2.43 servings/d) had 53.2% (95% CI 9.7, 75.7) lower sperm concentration than men in the lowest tertile of cheese intake (<0.43 servings/d).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that low-fat dairy intake, particularly low-fat milk, is related to higher sperm concentration and progressive motility, whereas cheese intake is related to lower sperm concentration among past or current smokers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: mafeiche@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Myriam C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Afeiche
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health and Population Global Health MPH Program, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Naima D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Bridges
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Paige L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Audrey J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gaskins
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Cigdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tanrikut
authors.affiliation: Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Petrozza
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Russ
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Chavarro
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000592:standards; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted / Q000379:methods; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013076:Sperm Count / Q000379:methods; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats
keywords: Infertility; dairy; diet; sperm quality