The association between healthy eating index score with semen parameters in infertile men: A cross-sectional study

Background: Infertility has been a major problem for young couples in recent years. One way to assay the diet quality is the healthy eating index (HEI), related to infertility. Objective: This study aims to assess the association between the HEI score with semen parameters in Iranian infertile men. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixty eligible men (18-55 yr), were referred to the major infertility clinic in the summer of 2018 and entered this cross-sectional study. Based on the 5th edition of the world health organization laboratory manual, semen parameters including sperm concentration, volume, motility, and morphology were analyzed, and to specify the dietary intake of individuals a 168-item questionnaire was used. Also, to calculate the total HEI score, all 13 components based on HEI-2015 components and scoring standards were summed up. Results: Participants in the highest tertile, had no difference in mean sperm parameters with those in the lowest tertile in the crude model. No significant association was found between sperm parameters and HEI score tertiles in the crude model, even after adjustment for potential confounders, except for concentration (OR: 0.39 and CI: 0.15, 0.99, p = 0.04). Participants in the highest tertile had a lower risk of abnormal concentration and motility in the crude model. The risk of abnormal concentration decreased, and motility increased in the adjusted model. Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study, there was no significant relationship between HEI and sperm indexes, except for sperm concentration. Therefore, more studies need to be done in the future. Key words: Diet, Healthy, Semen analysis, Infertility, Cross-sectional studies

The Association between Physical Activity and Sperm Quality Parameters: A Cross-Sectional Study in Iranian Infertile Men

Background: Infertility is described as inability of a couple to bring a child within 12 months or more of regular unprotected intercourse. Studies have suggested associations between semen quality and lifestyle factors, including physical activity and dietary intakes. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the relationship between physical activity and sperm quality parameters in infertile men who referred to infertility clinic of Isfahan City, Iran, in 2019. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 175 infertile men (18-55 years old) who referred to Royan infertility clinic in Isfahan, entered the study after completing the written consent form. Demographic data were collected using a questionnaire and physical activity information was collected by International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Sperm quality parameters including sperm concentration (SC), total sperm motility (TSM), normal sperm morphology (NSM), and sperm volume were investigated by spermogram test. For all analyses, SPSS software was used and P ˂ 0.05 was considered as significance level. Findings: Due to the lack of dissemination of physical activity data, all subjects were classified in the group of physical activity with moderate intensity. Multivariate logistic regression [odds ratio (OR)] with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess more accurately the relationship between physical activity and abnormal sperm parameters. Median values of metabolic equivalent of task (METs) were used to analyze the data due to lack of dissemination of physical activity data and no significant relationship was observed between sperm quality parameters and levels above median compared to the reference level (levels below median) in participants. Conclusion: No significant relationship was found between sperm quality parameters and physical activity pattern in infertile men. Furthermore, no relationship was found between body mass index (BMI) and sperm quality parameters