Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and its effect on semen of infertile men referred to infertility clinics in Tabriz

Chlamydia trachomatis in men can be a cause of infertility which sometimes is not considered in the infertility criteria; on the other hand, this infection has adverse effects on the morphology of semen. Regarding to the unknown prevalence and destructive effects of this infection on semen, this study was performed with aim to investigate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and its effect on semen of infertile men referred to infertility clinics in Tabriz.

In this descriptive study, which was performed during 2015 with the participation of 268 infertile men referred to infertility clinics affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in men and its effect on semen were investigated. Data were compared by SPSS software (version 20) and t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in infertile men was 35.82%; the morphological results of semen analysis showed that the number (P=0.009), progressive movement (P=0.026), morphology (P=0.001) and viability (P=0.003) of men sperm with chlamydia trachomatis infection was significantly lower than men without infection, while volume (P=0.012), in situ movement (P=0.009), sperm immobility (P=0.008) was significantly higher in men with infection than men without infection.

Incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection was higher than normal in the present study and this infection has led to destructive effects on semen morphology.