Association between obesity and sperm quality

There is awareness of likelihood of abnormal spermatozoa in obese men; however, results from previous studies are inconclusive. Advances in computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) enable precise evaluation of sperm quality and include assessment of several parameters. We studied a retrospective cohort of 1285 men with CASA data from our infertility clinic during 2016. Obesity (BMI 30) was associated with lower (mean +/- SE) volume (-0.28 +/- 0.12, p-value=.04), sperm count (48.36 +/- 16.51, p-value=.002), concentration (-15.83 +/- 5.40, p-value=.01), progressive motility (-4.45 +/- 1.92, p-value=.001), total motility (-5.50 +/- 2.12, p-value=.002), average curve velocity (m/s) (-2.09 +/- 0.85, p-value=.001), average path velocity (m/s) (-1.59 +/- 0.75, p-value=.006), and higher per cent head defects (0.92 +/- 0.81, p-value=.02), thin heads (1.12 +/- 0.39, p-value=.007) and pyriform heads (1.36 +/- 0.65, p-value=.02). Obese men were also more likely to have (odds ratio, 95% CI) oligospermia (1.67, 1.15-2.41, p-value=.007) and asthenospermia (1.82, 1.20-2.77, p-value=.005). This is the first report of abnormal sperm parameters in obese men based on CASA. Clinicians may need to factor in paternal obesity prior to assisted reproduction.