Does the male BMI affect sperm parameters? A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: The effect of obesity on male reproductive health has recently gained considerable attention, particularly the effect on sperm parameters. However, studies show a controversial relationship between male obesity and their sperm parameters. This study aimed to systematically review the published literature on the relationship between men's BMI and their sperm parameters.Method: A comprehensive systematic search of PubMed and SCOPUS databases was conducted to identify relevant research published in the English language from January 2010 to April 2023. Ten studies were determined according to the PRISMA statement for the systematic review, including 19,008 male participants. The first two authors conducted the search strategy independently, and the identified papers were critically appraised before the analysis. Data on sperm parameters such as semen volume, sperm concentration, count, motility, and morphology were systematically extracted into predesigned data extraction sheets. Statistical software SPSS version 25.0 was used for data analysis.Results: Among the ten studies included in this analysis, four studies with 2391 participants found no statistically significant association between men's BMI and their sperm parameters. In contrast, the remaining six studies involving 16,702 participants showed a statistically significant negative correlation between BMI and sperm concentration, count, and motility (p<0.001, p=0.05, p<0.001, respectively). Nevertheless, the analysis revealed no statistically significant correlation between body mass index and sperm volume (p=0.46) or sperm morphology (p=0.14).Conclusion: The study results show that BMI significantly affects sperm concentration, count, and motility. However, BMI did not show a significant effect on sperm volume and sperm morphology.