Semen Quality Parameters in Male Partners of Infertile Couples and Their Correlation with Socio-demographic Features in Rural Tertiary Care Center of Southern India: An Observational Study

Abstract

Background: Infertility especially male factor infertility is on a rising trend all over the world due to numerous factors including environmental, lifestyle factors, occupation-related, faulty dietary habits, etc. The present study aims at establishing a correlation between various demographic features of male partners of infertile couples with their semen analysis report. Methodology: Present retrospective observational study was conducted in the infertility clinic of a rural tertiary care center of Southern India over one year (August 2019 to July 2020). A total of 114 male partners of infertile couples fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled. The impact of socio-demographic features including age, BMI, occupation, religion, duration, type of infertility, and history of addiction on semen parameters was studied. Results: Of 114 participants, 82 (71.9%) had primary infertility and 32 (28.1%) secondary. Of these 39(34.2%) had male factor infertility. The average (mean±SD) sperm concentration, total motility, dead and morphologically normal sperm of all participants were 47.51±37.5 million/ml, 46.96±22.8, 27.18±17.9, and 65.77±35.4 respectively. The most common abnormality on semen analysis was the combination of different abnormalities (25.6%), followed by azoospermia (23.07%), oligozoospermia (17.9%), and teratozoospermia (17.9%). A significant inverse correlation was observed between body mass index and personal addiction with sperm motility. No significant correlation was found between male partner’s age, occupation, religion, duration, and type of infertility with semen parameters. Conclusion: Various modifiable factors harm male fertility including smoking, alcohol, obesity, occupational exposure to heat, and chemicals. The impact of male partners' age on semen parameters could not be established.