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Clinical Trial
. 2019 Feb 21;14(2):e0212194.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212194. eCollection 2019.

Effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy on semen parameters of a cohort of 770 HIV-1 infected men

Valeria Savasi  1   2 , Francesca Parisi  1   2 , Monica Oneta  1 , Arianna Laoreti  1   2 , Bina Parrilla  1 , Piergiorgio Duca  3 , Irene Cetin  1   2
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy on semen parameters of a cohort of 770 HIV-1 infected men

Valeria Savasi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: HIV-1 infected patients show impaired semen parameters. Currently, it is not clear whether HIV-1 infection itself or antiretroviral therapy have an effect on semen parameters. We aim evaluate semen quality in a large cohort of fertile HIV-1 infected men under stable highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and to assess the effect of HAART type and duration on semen parameters.

Materials and methods: Between January 2010 and June 2014, we enrolled in a retrospective case-control study 770 HIV-1 patients under stable HAART asking a reproductive counselling with their HIV negative partner. Co-infections with HBV or HCV, genital tract infections and known causes of infertility represented exclusion criteria. Semen samples were analysed and compared with the WHO reference values. A multivariate analysis including HAART type and duration, age, viral load and CD4 count, was performed on 600 patients out of 770.

Results: The median values of all semen parameters were significantly lower among HIV-1 infected patients compared to the WHO reference group, with a significant proportion of patients having values below the 5th percentile of the WHO reference value. In a multivariate analysis, only age and viral load negatively impacted progressive motility (β -0.3 (95% CI: -0.5; -0.0) %, p<0.05) and semen morphology (β -0.00 (95% CI: -0.00; -0.00) %, p≤0.01), while no associations were detected as regards HAART type and duration.

Conclusions: HIV-1 infected patients showed a significant impairment of semen parameters compared to the reference values. HAART type and duration showed no associations with semen quality. Further research is needed to investigate implications for clinical care of HIV infected men desiring a child.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart of the study population.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Distribution of semen parameters based on percentiles in the total study population and the WHO reference group.
Semen parameters of HIV-1 infected men, including median volume (a), sperm concentration (b), progressive motility (c), normal morphology (d) and total sperm count were significantly decreased compared to the WHO distribution.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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