Serum and semen zinc levels in normozoospermic and oligozoospermic men

Zinc is necessary for growth, sexual maturation and reproduction. Because high concentrations of zinc are found in the male reproductive system, a relationship between zinc and male infertility has been suggested. We studied 11 unselected men who presented to a Reproductive Endocrinology Clinic with histories of infertility and low sperm counts. Reproductive hormones and semen and serum zinc levels were measured. All men had semen analyses performed on at least three separate occasions. A similar set of laboratory evaluations were performed on 11 other men who had normal semen analyses and no history of infertility. No abnormalities of reproductive hormones were found in either group. Mean serum zinc levels were significantly lower in the infertile men (p less than 0.05). Mean semen zinc levels were not significantly different. There was no correlation between serum and semen zinc levels in either group. A significant correlation was found between sperm count and semen zinc (r = 0.66, p less than 0.05) in the volunteers with normal counts, but not in the oligozoospermic men. The results obtained in this study suggest that lowered serum zinc is more common than formerly appreciated in unselected patients with infertility. The high level of zinc found in semen is due primarily to the secretions of the prostate gland and reflects prostatic stores. Serum zinc is thought to be a reasonable indicator of zinc status. The lack of correlation between serum zinc and semen zinc found in our study suggests that mild zinc deficiency may lower serum zinc while the larger prostatic zinc stores remain unaffected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)