Keszthelyi Márton, Gyarmathy V Anna, Kaposi András, Kopa Zsolt
Department of Urology, Andrology Centre, Semmelweis University, Üllői út 78/b, Budapest, 1082, Hungary.
EpiConsult LLC, 8 The Green, STE A, Dover, DE, 19904, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2020 Mar 12;20(1):307. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8413-6.
Little is known about the potential role of central obesity among men. Our first aim was to confirm what is already known from prior research, namely that both BMI and WHR are inversely associated with selected semen parameters. Our second aim was to examine the potential role of central obesity by assessing if there was a difference between BMI and WHR regarding their relationships to these selected semen parameters.
In this cross-sectional study between January 2011 to January 2018, we analyzed semen samples from 1169 patients who visited an andrology clinic in Budapest for infertility reasons. Variables assessed were: body measurements (height, weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference), and the results of semen analysis (sperm concentration, total sperm count, progressive sperm motility, and normal sperm morphology).
The mean height and weight were 180.6 cm and 87.3 kg, respectively - the mean BMI was 26.8. The mean waist and hip circumferences were 100.9 cm and 94.8 cm, respectively - the mean waist to hip ratio was 0.94. The mean sperm concentration, total sperm count, and percents of progressive motility and normal morphology were 48.7 M/ml, 165 million, 21.2, and 4.8%, respectively. Both BMI and WHR were significant correlates in all semen parameter regression models. When comparing the parameter estimates for BMI with those for WHR for each semen parameter, the parameter estimate for WHR was significantly lower (indicating a stronger negative association) than that for BMI for progressive motility and total sperm count, but not for normal morphology or concentration.
Our study is the first to examine, using a large patient sample, the potential role of central obesity by comparing the difference between BMI and WHR as they relate to selected semen parameters. Our findings indicate a potential role of central obesity for progressive motility and total sperm count, but not for normal morphology and concentration. Despite the limitations and the exploratory nature of this study, we can conclude that our results point to a potential role of central obesity in male infertility, but this finding should be confirmed and further explored in future research.
The trial was retrospectively authorized after the data collection on September 24, 2018. Registration number: SE RKEB: 169/2018.
关于男性中心性肥胖的潜在作用知之甚少。我们的首要目标是证实先前研究中已有的发现，即体重指数（BMI）和腰臀比（WHR）均与选定的精液参数呈负相关。我们的第二个目标是通过评估BMI和WHR在与这些选定精液参数的关系上是否存在差异，来研究中心性肥胖的潜在作用。
在这项2011年1月至2018年1月的横断面研究中，我们分析了1169名因不育原因前往布达佩斯一家男科诊所就诊的患者的精液样本。评估的变量包括：身体测量指标（身高、体重、腰围和臀围）以及精液分析结果（精子浓度、总精子数、进行性精子活力和正常精子形态）。
平均身高和体重分别为180.6厘米和87.3千克，平均BMI为26.8。平均腰围和臀围分别为100.9厘米和94.8厘米，平均腰臀比为0.94。平均精子浓度、总精子数、进行性活力百分比和正常形态百分比分别为48.7百万/毫升、1.65亿、21.2%和4.8%。在所有精液参数回归模型中，BMI和WHR均为显著相关因素。当比较每个精液参数的BMI参数估计值和WHR参数估计值时，WHR的参数估计值在进行性活力和总精子数方面显著低于BMI（表明负相关性更强），但在正常形态或浓度方面并非如此。
我们的研究首次使用大量患者样本，通过比较BMI和WHR与选定精液参数的差异来研究中心性肥胖的潜在作用。我们的研究结果表明，中心性肥胖对进行性活力和总精子数有潜在作用，但对正常形态和浓度没有作用。尽管本研究存在局限性且具有探索性质，但我们可以得出结论，我们的结果表明中心性肥胖在男性不育中可能起作用，但这一发现应在未来研究中得到证实并进一步探索。
该试验在2018年9月24日数据收集后进行了回顾性授权。注册号：SE RKEB：169/2018。
