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. 2017 Dec;44(4):207-213.
doi: 10.5653/cerm.2017.44.4.207. Epub 2017 Dec 31.

Effects of infections with five sexually transmitted pathogens on sperm quality

Sung Jae Kim  1 , Doo-Jin Paik  1 , Joong Shik Lee  2 , Hyo Serk Lee  2 , Ju Tae Seo  2 , Mi Seon Jeong  3 , Jae-Ho Lee  4 , Dong Wook Park  5 , Sangchul Han  5 , Yoo Kyung Lee  6 , Ki Heon Lee  6 , In Ho Lee  6 , Kyeong A So  6 , Seon Ah Kim  6 , Juree Kim  6 , Tae Jin Kim  6
Affiliations

Effects of infections with five sexually transmitted pathogens on sperm quality

Sung Jae Kim et al. Clin Exp Reprod Med. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of infections with human papillomavirus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium in the semen of Korean infertile couples and their associations with sperm quality.

Methods: Semen specimens were collected from 400 men who underwent a fertility evaluation. Infection with above five pathogens was assessed in each specimen. Sperm quality was compared in the pathogen-infected group and the non-infected group.

Results: The infection rates of human papillomavirus, C. trachomatis, U. urealyticum, M. hominis, and M. genitalium in the study subjects were 1.57%, 0.79%, 16.80%, 4.46%, and 1.31%, respectively. The rate of morphological normality in the U. urealyticum-infected group was significantly lower than in those not infected with U. urealyticum. In a subgroup analysis of normozoospermic samples, the semen volume and the total sperm count in the pathogen-infected group were significantly lower than in the non-infected group.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that infection with U. urealyticum alone and any of the five sexually transmitted infections are likely to affect sperm morphology and semen volume, respectively.

Keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis; Human papillomavirus; Mycoplasma genitalium; Mycoplasma hominis; Semen analysis; Sexually transmitted disease; Ureaplasma urealyticum.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: This work was supported in part by a grant from the investigator-initiated studies program of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. The funders had no role in the design, collection, analysis or interpretation of this study. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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