The following is a summary of “Impact of Obesity on Sperm Parameters in Young Adult Males: A Retrospective Study of Sperm Donors,” published in the December 2023 issue of Urology by Gurayah, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and individual sperm parameters in a large cohort of healthy sperm bank donors.

Sperm parameters were collected from donors across the United States between 2013 and 2022. The cohort comprised healthy men aged 18-46 years, and semen samples were analyzed in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. A multivariable interaction model considering age, BMI, and sperm parameters was employed.

The study included 117,357 sperm donations, with 98,397 (83.84%) categorized as young donors (ages 18-32 years) and 18,960 (16.16%) as old donors (ages 33-46 years). Among them, 1,032 (0.88%) were underweight, 76,635 (65.30%) were normal weight, 36,686 (31.26%) were overweight, and 3,004 (2.56%) were obese. The median total motile sperm count (TMSC) was 186 million, volume was 3.36 mL, sperm concentration was 56 million/mL, and progressive motility was 59.84%. Older obese donors exhibited lower TMSC (β = -22.98 ± 4.66, P < .001), semen volumes (β = -0.85 ± 0.06, P < .001), and progressive motility (β = -3.94 ± 0.56, P < .001) compared to younger, healthy weight donors.

Older obese donors demonstrated decreased TMSC, semen volumes, and progressive motility compared to their younger, healthy-weight counterparts. Although these differences were within normal ranges, the findings underscore the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to preserve optimal sperm parameters.

Reference: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(23)00795-1/abstract