Sperm nuclear DNA fragmentation and its association with semen quality in Greek men

Due to the limitations of conventional semen analysis in predicting a man's fertility potential, sperm DNA fragmentation was recently introduced as a novel marker of sperm quality. This prospective study was undertaken to investigate the associations between conventional seminal parameters and DNA fragmentation in Greek men. A total of 669 subject data were evaluated in two groups, normozoospermic (n=184) and non-normozoospermic (n=485), according to the WHO 2010 (WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen, 5th edn. World Health Organization), reference limits. For all the subjects, semen volume, sperm concentration, total count, rapid and total progressive motility and morphology were recorded following the WHO 2010 methods and DNA fragmentation was assessed by the sperm chromatin dispersion assay. An inverse correlation was established between DNA fragmentation and all conventional seminal parameters except semen volume in men with seminal profiles below the reference limits, with statistical significance for rapid and total progressive motility. Normozoospermic men exhibited lower levels of DNA fragmentation than their non-normozoospermic counterparts, even though the values were not always below 30%. DNA fragmentation testing and traditional semen analysis should therefore be considered as complementary diagnostic tools in a comprehensive evaluation of male infertility.