One abstinence day decreases sperm DNA fragmentation in 90 % of selected patients

The aim of this prospective descriptive study was to evaluate the efficacy of reducing sexual abstinence as a strategy to decrease sperm DNA fragmentation.

Men with one or more of the following characteristics were included in the study: older than 44, smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day, with a body mass index over 25, diabetes mellitus, varicocele, a previous chemotherapy treatment, severe oligozoospermia, prostatitis, cryptorchidism, having a partner with recurrent miscarriage and/or implantation failure, poor embryo morphology and/or fertilization failure. Patients were asked to produce a semen sample after 3 to 7 abstinence days which was subjected to a sperm DNA fragmentation test. When DNA fragmentation was above or equal to 30 %, it was considered to be altered. Patients with increased DNA fragmentation were asked to produce another semen sample following a "one abstinence day protocol". This protocol required producing up to three semen samples with 1 day of abstinence and measuring sperm DNA fragmentation.

Four hundred and sixteen patients produced a first semen sample after a sexual abstinence of 3 to 7 days. Sperm DNA fragmentation was altered in 46 samples (11.1 %). Thirty five patients with increased DNA fragmentation samples completed the "one abstinence day protocol". DNA fragmentation decreased to normal values in one of the three attempts in 91.4 % of the patients: 81.3 % in the first attempt, 12.5 % in the second try and 6.3 % in the third.

This approach could be a simple, low-cost and effective way to decrease sperm DNA damage to normal values.