title: Does being overweight affect seminal variables in fertile men?
abstract: The effect of being overweight on seminal variables was assesed in 165 fertile men. Participants were divided into three groups: fertile men with normal body mass index (BMI) (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), fertile overweight men (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2) and fertile obese men (BMI >30 kg/m2). Medical history was taken, a clinical examination conducted. Semen analysis was undertaken and BMI measured. Seminal reactive oxygen species (ROS) was estimated by chemiluminescent assay, sperm vitality by the hypo-osmotic swelling test and sperm DNA fragmentation by propidium iodide staining with flowcytometry. Fertile obese men had significantly lower sperm concentration, progressive sperm motility and sperm normal morphology, with significantly higher seminal ROS and sperm DNA fragmentation compared with fertile normal-weight men and overweight men (all P < 0.05). BMI was negatively correlated with sperm concentration (r = -0.091; P = 0.014), progressive sperm motility (r = -0.697; P = 0.001), normal sperm morphology (r = -0.510; P = 0.001), sperm vitality (r = -0.586; P = 0.001), but positively correlated with sperm DNA fragmentation percentage (r = 0.799; P = 0.001) and seminal ROS (r = 0.673; P = 0.001). Increased BMI was found to affect semen parameters negatively even in fertile men.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Emad A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Taha
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Sohair K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sayed
authors.affiliation: Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hisham D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Gaber
authors.affiliation: Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hatem K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Abdel Hafez
authors.affiliation: Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nagwa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghandour
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Asmaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zahran
authors.affiliation: Andrology and Sexology Department, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt. Electronic address: taymour1155@link.net.
authors.forename: Taymour
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mostafa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D009995:Osmosis; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012661:Semen / Q000502:physiology*; D055101:Semen Analysis; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: BMI; male infertility; obesity; oxidative stress; semen; sperm DNA fragmentation