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Sperm chromatin damage impairs human fertility. The Danish First Pregnancy Planner Study Team
M Spanò1, J P Bonde, H I Hjøllund
1Section of Toxicology and Biomedical Sciences, ENEA CR Casaccia, Rome, Italy. spanomrc@casaccia.enea.it
Objective:
To examine the relationship between sperm chromatin defects, evaluated by the flow cytometric (FCM) sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), and the probability of a pregnancy in a menstrual cycle (fecundability).
Design:
Follow-up study.
Setting:
The Section of Toxicology and Biomedical Sciences, ENEA Casaccia, Rome, Italy, and the Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Patient(S):
Two hundred fifteen Danish first pregnancy planners with no previous knowledge of their fertility capability.
Intervention(S):
None.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Semen samples were collected at enrollment to measure semen volume, sperm concentration, motility, and morphology (by microscopy), as well as chromatin susceptibility to in situ, acid-induced partial denaturation by the FCM SCSA. Time to pregnancy was evaluated during a 2-year follow-up period. Demographic, medical, reproductive, occupational, and lifestyle data were collected by questionnaire. Fecundability was correlated with SCSA-derived parameters.
Result(S):
Fecundability declines as a function of the percentage of sperm with abnormal chromatin and becomes small when aberrant cells are >40%.
Conclusion(S):
Optimal sperm chromatin packaging seems necessary for full expression of the male fertility potential. The SCSA emerged as a predictor of the probability to conceive in this population-based study.