Intake of ultra-processed foods and asthenozoospermia odds: A hospital-based case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundThe intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has increased rapidly in recent years. Evidence has suggested that UPFs has adverse effects on several health outcomes. This study aimed to first evaluate the association between the intake of UPFs and asthenozoospermia odds.MethodsA hospital-based case-control study including 549 cases and 581 controls was performed in the infertility clinics of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from June 2020 to December 2020. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Food items were categorized by the NOVA classification system based on the degree of processing. Semen parameters were analyzed according to the World Health Organization guidelines.ResultsThe highest tertile of UPFs intake (% of total energy intake) was positively associated with the odds of asthenozoospermia (odds ratio [OR] = 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12, 2.10; P for trend < 0.05), compared with the lowest tertile. Similar patterns were also found in subgroup analyses among participants with age ≥32 years (OR = 1.58; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.40), BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.22), ever cigarette smoking (OR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.79), and ever alcohol drinking (OR = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.72), and in sensitivity analyses by using absolute amount (g/day) to calculate the intake of UPFs.ConclusionHigher consumption of UPFs was positively associated with the odds of asthenozoospermia. More studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Perspective on the consumption of ultra-processed foods among university students

“…In the Australian market, much of the products contain very little proportion of vegetables and tend to the consumption of highly processed foods so campaigns are required to increase the consumption of vegetables and legumes [13] as there is evidence from research that people who consume these ultra -processed foods are affected in fertility (in males) [18] and the results indicate that there is a higher consumption of ultra -processed foods in male adolescents than in female adolescents, while the intake of vegetables and fruits in adolescents is very frequent in the female sex accompanied by physical activity , in addition, adolescents with higher consumption of ultra -processed foods presented psychological problems such as depression and variation in their behavior [19].…”

“…Several epidemiological studies show that the risk of contracting various incurable diseases is associated with the degree of food processing, and most of this finding was determined by the NOVA system [17]. The consumption of ultraprocessed foods is constantly growing, along with the health problems they cause [18]. In adolescents, there is a high rate of consumption of ultra -processed foods, which brings with it behavioral and emotional pro blems and, therefore, damage to themselves [19].…”

Associations between dietary macronutrient quality and asthenozoospermia risk: a hospital-based case-control study

“…22,23 The FFQ was derived from the Northeast Cohort Study of China, which has been verified to have reasonable reliability and validity, and applied in published studies. 6,18,21–23 The reproducibility coefficients (Spearman and intraclass correlation coefficients) were over 0.5 and Spearman correlation coefficients between the weighed diet records and the FFQ were 0.3–0.7 for most food groups. 23 We asked all participants to recall their usual intake of each food item during the previous year, with 7 response options ( i.e.…”

“…The definition of asthenozoospermia is according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines 20 and has been elaborated elsewhere. 18,21 Briefly, asthenozoospermia is defined as a total motility (rapidly and slowly progressive motility + non-progressive motility) of <40%, and also defined as progressive motility (rapidly and slowly progressive motility) of <32% within 60 min of ejaculation within the last three months. 20 When asthenospermia is defined, the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa and the concentration (or the total number) of spermatozoa are not less than the lower reference limit.…”

Dietary fat and fatty acid consumptions and the odds of asthenozoospermia: a case–control study in China

“…A baseline questionnaire, including dietary and sociodemographic information, was administered by well-trained interviewers to all recruited participants. Participants with extreme total caloric intake (<800 or >4200 kcal/day) (n = 26), incomplete information (n = 139), or a history of varicocele (n = 10) were further excluded ( Eslamian et al , 2012 , 2015 ; Liu et al , 2021 ; Lv et al , 2022 ). After the exclusion of ineligible participants, 549 cases and 581 controls were applicable for statistical analysis ( Fig.…”