The association between animal flesh foods consumption and semen parameters among infertile Iranian men: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated the association between dietary patterns and semen quality indicators, but research on the possible association between animal flesh foods consumption and semen quality is limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the association between animal flesh foods consumption with semen quality. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 400 newly-identified infertile men, as diagnosed by an andrologist, were recruited into the study. Dietary intake was assessed by using a semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. The total meat consumption was defined as the sum of red meat, poultry, fresh fish, canned fish, processed meats, and organ meats in the diet. Linear mixed model was used to assesse relationship between meat consumption and semen quality indicators of participants. Results: Consumption of canned fish was inversely related with sperm immotility. Compared with the men in the lowest quartile of canned fish intake, those in the highest quartile had 5.1% fewer sperm immotility [lowest quartile: 52.5%; (95% CI: 47-57) vs 47.4%; (95% CI: 43-51) P-trend=0.026]. Similarly, a trend toward an inverse significant association between fresh fish intake and sperm immotility was observed (P-trend=0.0.074). In contrast, fresh and canned fish intake was unrelated with other outcomes of sperm quality (P-trend >0.05). No association was found between consumption of processed red meat, red meat, poultry, and organ meat, and semen quality indicators (P-trend >0.05). Conclusions: We found that consumption of canned fish, based on serving size of quartile 2, is associated with lower percentage of immotile sperm, whilst high consumption of fresh fish increased the percentage of immotile sperm in Iranian infertile men. Accordingly, more extensive studies are recommended in this regard.