Assessment of semen parameters in consecutive ejaculates with short abstinence period in oligospermic males

OBJECTIVE: Human sperm parameters varies widely among men and even between consecutive samples in the same individual with respect to their concentration, motility, morphology, and DNA fragmentation. Less is known about the characteristics of sperm in short abstinence periods. Hence, the current study was conducted to determine the influence of consecutive ejaculate on above parameters after short abstinence period in oligospermic males. METHODS: This observational study was conducted from January 2018 to February 2019 and included 67 men undergoing primary infertility treatment at the SDM Fertility Centre, Dharwad, India. The first semen sample was provided after an abstinence period of 2-7 days, while the second sample was collected 1-3 h after the first. The two consecutive semen samples were analyzed according to the 2010 WHO criteria for semen analysis and their parameters were compared. Sperm DNA fragmentation was also measured. RESULTS: Most of the participants were aged of 31 to 40 years (68.6%). The majority of them had the second sample collected after a 1-hour interval (88%); 10.4% of the subjects had the second sample collected after a 2-hour interval; the remaining 1.4% had the second sample collected after a 3-hour interval. Mean concentration (mill/ml), total motility, and progressive motility (%) were significantly higher in the second sample (p<0.05). The second sample also showed lower DNA fragmentation than the first ejaculate sample. CONCLUSIONS: Our study inferred that consecutive semen samples collected 1-3 hours apart might have a role in managing subfertility in oligospermic males. Further research, possibly a randomized clinical trial, is needed to explore this association.