Impact of body mass index and metabolic syndrome on sperm DNA fragmentation in males from infertile couples: A cross-sectional study from Vietnam

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome on sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) in males from infertile couples. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed from September 2018 to September 2019 at the Hue Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (HUECREI), Vietnam. The study included men from couples with at least one year of infertility, who were subjected to semen analysis and SDF assay (Halosperm). We also performed a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test and measured lipidemia. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was defined based on the NHLBI/AHA-ATP III guidelines. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 35.26 ± 5.87 years and 53.8% of them had a BMI ≥23.0 kg/m(2). The DNA fragmentation index was significantly associated with overweight (p = 0.024). Men without MetS had a higher rate of big halos and a lower rate of small halos, no halos, and degraded semen compared to that in men with MetS, but the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). By performing multivariable analysis, we found that the SDF value was significantly different among the two groups with either overweight or normal weight. CONCLUSION: In males from infertile couples with a relatively young mean age, BMI can be an independent indicator for SDF. MetS thus has a significant role in the development of sperm DNA fragmentation, at least in overweight individuals; it should thus be assessed under the scope of BMI, for better/earlier detection of increased SDF.