Chronic Inflammation Impairs Male Fertility—A Case-Control Study in Ulcerative Colitis Patients

Abstract

Recent evidence indicates that a systemic state of inflammation may exert a negative effect on male fertility. The aim of this study is to evaluate sperm quality parameters in male patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Between December 2019 and December 2020 semen analyses are performed in 50 patients with UC in clinical remission. The control group consists of 50 healthy volunteers. Total sperm count, sperm count, percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa, viability, and progressive motility, are significantly lower in the study group than in healthy males (p < 0.001). The DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) are significantly higher in the study group (28.9% and 1.55% on average, respectively) than in healthy males (14.6% and 0.79% on average, respectively). Bacteriospermia is more clearly observed in the study group (p = 0.037), and the most frequent pathogen is Enterococcus faecalis. The DFI and ORP are significantly higher in bacteria carriers, compared to males without microbial pathogens from both the study and control groups (p < 0.001). To conclude, UC patients have worse basic sperm parameters compared to their healthy counterparts. Deterioration of semen parameters, as well as an intensified DNA fragmentation could be a result of oxidative stress intensification.