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Prevalence of high DNA fragmentation index in male partners of unexplained infertile couples.

Oleszczuk, Krzysztof LU ; Augustinsson, L ; Bayat, N ; Giwercman, Aleksander LU and Bungum, Mona LU (2013) In Andrology 1(3). p.357-360
Abstract
The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameter DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) is a valuable tool for prediction of fertility in vivo. Clinical data show that a DFI above 30% is associated with very low chance for achieving pregnancy by natural conception or by insemination. Already when DFI is above 20% the chance of natural pregnancy is reduced, this despite normal conventional semen parameters. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of high DFI in male partners of unexplained infertile couples to further identification of male factors contributing to subfertility. Among 212 consecutive men under infertility investigation, 122 cases with the diagnosis 'unexplained infertility' were identified. For all but... (More)
The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameter DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) is a valuable tool for prediction of fertility in vivo. Clinical data show that a DFI above 30% is associated with very low chance for achieving pregnancy by natural conception or by insemination. Already when DFI is above 20% the chance of natural pregnancy is reduced, this despite normal conventional semen parameters. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of high DFI in male partners of unexplained infertile couples to further identification of male factors contributing to subfertility. Among 212 consecutive men under infertility investigation, 122 cases with the diagnosis 'unexplained infertility' were identified. For all but three, SCSA data were available. The percentage of couples with diagnosis 'unexplained infertility' in which the male partner has DFI >20% or DFI >30% was calculated. In the group diagnosed with 'unexplained infertility' 17.7% of the men (95% CI 10.8-24.5) presented with 20 ≤DFI <30 and 8.4% (95% CI 3.40-13.4) had DFI ≥30%. A significant part of men diagnosed as unexplained infertile according to traditional diagnostic methods has remarkably high degrees of fragmented sperm DNA. Apart from adding to our understanding of biology of infertility our finding has clinical implications. Couples in which the DFI of the male partner is high can avoid prolonged attempts to become spontaneously pregnant or referral for intrauterine insemination, both having low chances of leading to conception. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Andrology
volume
1
issue
3
pages
357 - 360
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000317988900001
  • pmid:23596042
  • scopus:84885635322
ISSN
2047-2927
DOI
10.1111/j.2047-2927.2012.00041.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9e62a963-6d09-4384-abea-7e679ec9d320 (old id 3733642)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23596042?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:38:17
date last changed
2022-03-27 18:01:46
@article{9e62a963-6d09-4384-abea-7e679ec9d320,
  abstract     = {{The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameter DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) is a valuable tool for prediction of fertility in vivo. Clinical data show that a DFI above 30% is associated with very low chance for achieving pregnancy by natural conception or by insemination. Already when DFI is above 20% the chance of natural pregnancy is reduced, this despite normal conventional semen parameters. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of high DFI in male partners of unexplained infertile couples to further identification of male factors contributing to subfertility. Among 212 consecutive men under infertility investigation, 122 cases with the diagnosis 'unexplained infertility' were identified. For all but three, SCSA data were available. The percentage of couples with diagnosis 'unexplained infertility' in which the male partner has DFI &gt;20% or DFI &gt;30% was calculated. In the group diagnosed with 'unexplained infertility' 17.7% of the men (95% CI 10.8-24.5) presented with 20 ≤DFI &lt;30 and 8.4% (95% CI 3.40-13.4) had DFI ≥30%. A significant part of men diagnosed as unexplained infertile according to traditional diagnostic methods has remarkably high degrees of fragmented sperm DNA. Apart from adding to our understanding of biology of infertility our finding has clinical implications. Couples in which the DFI of the male partner is high can avoid prolonged attempts to become spontaneously pregnant or referral for intrauterine insemination, both having low chances of leading to conception.}},
  author       = {{Oleszczuk, Krzysztof and Augustinsson, L and Bayat, N and Giwercman, Aleksander and Bungum, Mona}},
  issn         = {{2047-2927}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{357--360}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Andrology}},
  title        = {{Prevalence of high DNA fragmentation index in male partners of unexplained infertile couples.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2047-2927.2012.00041.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.2047-2927.2012.00041.x}},
  volume       = {{1}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}