Associated factors with male infertility: a case control study

Sperm analysis is an important step to evaluate and diagnose male's infertility. The present study aimed to determine associated factors with males' infertility by using semen analysis.

In this study 96 men were evaluated who attended to the infertility clinics of Ilam province, western Iran between May 2010 to May 2011. Semen analysis was done using the Weili Dynamic Sperm Analysis software adapted to the WHO classification. Based on movement and speed characters, sperms were classified to either A, B, C or D classes. Participants were stratified into two groups that called "Oligospermia (OS)" with sperm counts of less than 20 million in mL (n=48) and "Non-Oligospermia (NOS)" with values more than determined cutoff point (n=48).

The Mean age ±SD for OS and NOS group were 29.9 ±5.1 y and 31.17 ±5.24 y, respectively (p>0.05). Overall, 62.5% of OS and 31.2% of NOS were clinically infertile (OR=3.6, CI, 1.5-8.5, p=0.01). A significant difference was found between job and live ratio(A+B+C) in NOS group (F=2.8, p<0.05).

Prevalence of infertility was higher in the OS men compared to the NOS group. The main risk factors in the OS group were History of Varicocele surgery and residence site of patients that are totally similar to the NOS men. Further case-control studies and clinical trials are recommended to recognize infertility causes in men.