Semen quality in men from subfertile couples from the region of ?ód? (Poland) according to the new reference values recommended by WHO 2010

摘要

The semen analysis is the main diagnostic tool forevaluating the male fertility potential. The standardsemen analysis includes evaluation of the sperm concentration,motility, and their morphology. The mostimportant question is whether the results from semenanalysis may be accurate markers for male fertility.Therefore, we retrospectively studied sperm qualityamong men attending the infertility clinic due toreproductive problems consistent with the WHO manualfrom 1999, which were reassessed according to themanual from 2010. Semen results from 571 males fromcouples undergoing fertility investigation were analyzed.All subjects included in the study had no abnormalitiesduring examination. In 64 samples (11.2%),a leukocyte count above 1 x 106/ml was found andtheir semen volume (median 3.2 ml) was significantlylower in comparison with the group without leukocytes(3.6 ml; p <0.001). Normal semen parameters werefound in 290 subjects (50.8%) according to the 1999manual and in 362 men (63.4%) according to the 2010manual. The normozoospermia group, according to the2010 manual, had a significantly lower percentage ofsperm with progressive motility, motile sperm concentration,and total number of motile sperm in comparisonwith the normozoospermia group according to themanual from 1999. It seems that routine semen analysisis not sufficient to estimate male fertility potentialand some men with normal semen parameters may besubfertile. Further investigations are needed.