Dietary Patterns and the Frequency of Disomy in Human Sperm

To determine whether dietary patterns are associated with the frequency of sperm aneuploidy in a human sperm. It was shown that the role of nutrition, especially dietary pattern, remains unexamined as a risk factor in sperm aneuploidy. In contrast to the traditional analytical approach used in nutritional epidemiology, dietary pattern analysis considers overall diet rather than individual nutrients or foods.

The study population consisted of 212 men who were attending an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes and who had semen concentration of ≥15 (10(6)/ml) (World Health Organization, 2010). Sperm aneuploidy was assessed using multicolor fluorescent in situ hybridization (DNA probes specific for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, Y). Diet was assessed via food frequency questionnaire and dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis. Men were classified into 3 groups according to scores of each dietary pattern: Western, Mixed, Prudent.

In multivariate analysis, Prudent dietary pattern characterized by high intakes of fish, chicken, fruit, cruciferous vegetables, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, legumes, and whole grains decreases disomy of chromosomes XX and 21 (P = .01 and P = .005) compared with Western dietary pattern characterized by high intakes of red and processed meat, butter, high fat dairy, refined grains, pizza, snacks, high-energy drinks, and sweets.

Higher consumption of Prudent dietary pattern was associated with decreased frequencies of sperm disomy. As this is the first study to analyze the relation of diet and the frequency of sperm aneuploidy, our findings merit further studies, in other populations.