Abstract
Abstract Overweight and obese entail health risks with potential effects on the social and economic well-being of an individual and the community at large. Poor health conditions resulting from being overweight and obesity may lead to a disruption of male sex hormones and affect semen parameters. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on semen parameters and sex hormones level in infertile males. stratified samples and simple random samples were used in selecting 100 infertile men between 20-45 years old with a duration of infertility of more than one year. The patients with risk factors, besides obesity, that could affect semen parameters or reproductive hormones were evaluated. Patients were separated into the following three groups: normal weight (<25 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25–29.9 kg/m 2 ), and obese (≥30 kg/m 2 ). The BMI was determined using weight and height measurements, in addition, measurement of skinfold to determine body fat percentage. Semen parameters and reproductive hormones were evaluated and compared among the groups. The results revealed a significant relationship between sperm total motility and BMI of the studied participants (P= 0.01) the obese participants had significantly higher sperm motility as compared to the overweight ones (P= 0.015) but had no different motility when compared to normal weight patients. Overweight participants had significantly lower sperm motility compared to the normal ones (P= 0.03). The prolactin was the only sex hormone associated with increase BMI (P value= 0.011), it being significantly lower in overweight and obese participants compared to participants with normal weight (P value=0.031, 0.016 respectively), while both groups with overweight and obesity had no statistically significant difference in prolactin level. The spearman's Rank Correlation confirmed that LH (r= -0.212, P= 0.034), testosterone (r= -0.298, P= 0.003), prolactin (r= -0.201, P= 0.045), T/E2 ratio (r= -0.198, P= 0.049), and abnormal sperm morphology (r= -0.203, P= 0.043) had a weak yet significant negative correlation with BMI (they worsened as BMI increased). Regarding the association between waist circumference (WC) with both semen parameters and sex hormones profile, it found that there is no statistically significant relation between sex hormones represented by (FSH, LH, estradiol, testosterone, prolactin, and T/E2 ratio) and waist circumference. In addition, there is a statistically significant association between waist circumference and abnormal sperm morphology and total motility (P= 0.045, 0.021 respectively). Participants with WC ≥102 cm had a significantly higher percentage of abnormal sperm morphology as compared to those with lower WC (≤94 cm) (P= 0.034), and about the total motility, it was significantly higher in participants with WC ≥102 cm when compared to those with WC ≥95 – 101 cm as (P= 0.016). It also found that there was no relation between waist circumference and progressive sperm motility.