The Association of Food Pattern and Sperm Quality Parameters and Biochemical Markers in Infertile Men: A Review Study

Regarding that in the most of studies, the effects of each micronutrient such as folate, zinc, and various antioxidants have been considered separately, the aim of this study was to review dietary patterns and their relationship with sperm concentration, count, motility, morphology, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage as well as some biochemical parameters such as homocysteine levels in infertile men.

In this study, through search in scientific databases and using keywords such as ‘infertility’, ‘sterility’, ‘sub-fertility’, ‘fertility’, ‘dietary pattern’, ‘diet type’, ‘eating pattern’, and ‘diet’, published papers during 1980-2018 were extracted. After that, only studies that investigated the food pattern were included. Finally, 5 studies were used for this study.

The studies showed a positive relationship between healthy eating patterns and sperm’s density, motility, and quality. Men with healthier eating pattern had better sperm index. It was also shown in studies that there was a direct relationship between the dietary pattern, the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and DNA damage, so that the ROC caused a negative effect on the spermatogenesis by inducing oxidative stress and altering the density and compression of the sperm nucleus.

Studies have shown a positive association between dietary pattern and sperm parameters damage, so that a healthy diet is an indicator of success in improving sperm parameters. More studies are needed with a high statistical population to conclude definitively.