Effectiveness of Nutritional Therapies in Male Factor Infertility Treatment: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Nutritional therapies are effective alternative treatments for male infertility or subfertility. These are cost-effective and easily implementable, unlike other advanced invasive treatments. Even moderate improvements in sperm quality could improve spontaneous pregnancy.

Objective: We aimed to compare the effectiveness of all nutritional therapies in male infertility/subfertility treatment and ranked their efficacy based on type and etiology. We intend to aid clinicians with an evidence-based approach to affordable and safer initial infertility treatment for those who mainly do not wish to have other advanced invasive treatments or could not afford or have access to them.

Methods: We included 69 studies with 94 individual study arms identified from bibliographic databases and registries. We included studies in adult men with proven infertility or subfertility that investigated nutritional or dietary supplement therapies compared with control or placebo and at least reported on a sperm parameter. We undertook a network meta-analysis and performed a pairwise meta-analysis on all sperm parameter outcomes and meta-regression. No language or date restriction was imposed. A systematic article search was concluded on August 29, 2022.

Results: Our network meta-analysis is the first to compare all dietary interventions in a single analysis, sub-grouped by intervention type and type of infertility. L-Carnitine with micronutrients, antioxidants, and several traditional herbal supplements showed statistically and clinically significant improvement in sperm quality. Meta-regression identified that improvement in the sperm count, motility and morphology translated into increased pregnancy rates (p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p < 0.002, respectively). In particular, L-carnitine with micronutrient therapy (risk ratio [RR]: 3.60, 95% CI 1.86, 6.98, p = 0.0002), followed by zinc (RR 5.39, 95% CI 1.26, 23.04, p = 0.02), significantly improved pregnancy rates. Men with oligozoospermia (RR 4.89), followed by oligoasthenozoospermia (RR 4.20) and asthenoteratozoospermia (RR 3.53), showed a significant increase in pregnancy rates.

Conclusion: We ranked nutritional therapies for their ability to improve sperm quality in men with infertility. Nutritional therapies, particularly L-carnitine alone or combined with micronutrients, significantly improved sperm parameters and pregnancy rates even under severe conditions. We believe these affordable solutions may be valuable for people without access to or who do not wish to undergo more invasive and costly fertility treatments.