Obesity is associated with quality of sperm parameters in men with infertility: a cross-sectional study

Previous studies examined the effects of obesity on sperm parameters and reported inconsistent results. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the association between obesity and the quality of sperm parameters in infertile men.

The present cross-sectional study evaluated 218 infertile men aged 20-50. To this end, the 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was utilized to evaluate dietary intake. The anthropometric and biochemical variables were examined using standard methods. Further, the association between obesity and the quality of sperm parameters was evaluated using the controlled linear regression for potential confounders.

The normal sperm morphology had a significant inverse association with BMI [adjusted β - 0.074, CI (- 0.141 to - 0.008), P = 0.029] and WC [adjusted β - 0.026, CI (- 0.051 to - 0.001), P = 0.038]. Additionally, visceral fat had a marginal inverse association with normal sperm morphology [adjusted β - 0.065, CI (- 0.138 to 0.008), P = 0.079] and non-progressive sperm motility [adjusted β - 0.241, CI (- 0.495 to 0.014), P = 0.063].

Even though the present results indicated that obesity, abdominal obesity, and visceral fat had inverse associations with normal sperm morphology, more mechanism-based studies should be conducted to confirm these findings.