Assessing the possible risk factors of male infertility

Background: Male infertility encompasses up to 50% of all infertility cases and can be due to a variety of causes. Besides cytogenetic abnormalities, hormonal and environmental factors such as trauma, heat, toxins, radiation and nutritional deficiency have been shown to affect spermatogenesis. This study aims to look for the possible risk factors that impair the normal sperm production, which is reflected in semen analysis. Materials and Methods: A total of 601 men underwent semen analysis at Infertility Centre in this prospective case–control study. After undergoing semen analysis, those with azoospermia (AZ), oligozoospermia (OL) and asthenozoospermia (AS) were selected as cases of the study, whereas those with normal semen analysis results were selected as controls. All participants were interviewed with a standardised questionnaire to assess for the known & possible risk factors of infertility & data was analysed. Results: Mean & standard deviation (SD) age of the participants was 33.38 ± 5.63 years. History of varicocele was found to be significantly associated with AZ/OL [adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) 5.4] and AS (ORadj 6.9). Similarly, men with a history of mumps orchitis had a significant association with both AS (ORadj 2.13) and OL/AZ (ORadj 2.62). Men who chewed tobacco had about twice more chances of having OL/AZ. Activities related to scrotal heat exposure except hot water bath were not associated with sperm quality [AS (ORadj 0.68) and OL/AZ (ORadj 0.59)]. Motorcycle riders were found to have decreased association with low semen quality AS (ORadj 0.53) and OL/AZ (ORadj 0.50). Conclusion: Varicocele, mumps orchitis and tobacco chewing are significant risk factors that have shown to decrease semen quality and can contribute to male infertility.