The aging male: Relationship between male age, sperm quality and sperm DNA damage in an unselected population of 3124 men attending the fertility centre for the first time

Abstract

Conventional semen analysis represents the opportunity to draw up a proxy insight on the male fertility status even if semen quality can only indirectly assess the probability of pregnancy. Several studies have verified a decay in the male reproductive system, sperm quality and fertility with advancing age although the reported results are not yet conclusive. Our results substantially agree with those findings outlined in the literature. Moreover we find that the discrepancy between the two WHO reference scales would eventually lead to an improper diagnosis of infertility.