Clinical properties and seminal fluid analysis of patients with primary infertility consulting the urology outpatient clinic for the first time: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction/Aim. Seminal fluid analysis (SFA) plays a crucial role in helping infertility clinics diagnose the underlying reason of male infertility. The aim of the study was to investigate seminal fluid patterns of male partners of an infertile couple with apparently fertile female partners. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 and December 2022. Patients were attending consultations for delayed conception for more than 12 months with apparently fertile female partner. Results. Four hundred fifty-three patients were included in the study. The distribution of patients according to age groups showed that 277 patients were young, aged 21 - 30 years (61%). Two hundred sixty-two (58%) patients complained of infertility for 12 - 24 months duration. Four hundred twenty-nine (94.7%) patients had normal semen volume. In terms of sperm count, 174 patients had below the normal sperm count. Sperm concentrations also showed a great decline with advancing age. Motility parameters were shown to be poor. Sperm morphology findings were relatively good. Results of the current study reflects the impact of infertility on young age groups (21-30 years) as 277 (61%) cases of infertility manifests in this age. One hundred fifty-eight (34.8%) patients were suffering from low sperm count which tend to get lower with increasing age. Motility is known to have a stronger impact on fertility rate compared to morphology. Conclusion. Low motility is caused by several factors which are highly prevalent in society as compared to abnormal morphology factors, including: smoking, drinking alcohol, low exercise, stress, obesity, while morphology on the other hand is affected by other factors which are less prevalent in society.