Correlation between sperm motility and sperm chromatin structure assay parameters

: ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between chromatin structure and sperm motility.: DesignCross-sectional prospective study.: SettingScanian Andrology Centre, Malmo¨, Sweden; ENEA Casaccia, Rome, Italy; and Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.: Patient(s)One hundred seventy-one males from Danish first pregnancy planner couples (group 1) and 278 Swedish military conscripts (group 2).: Main outcome measure(s)Sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameters, DNA fragmentation index (DFI), high DNA stainable (HDS), and sperm motility, which was evaluated manually and by use of computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA).: Result(s)A statistically significant negative correlation between DFI and the CASA percentage of motile sperms (group 1: r = −0.53; group 2: r = −0.38) was found. For the manual motility assessment, the correlation coefficients were slightly lower. Furthermore, HDS correlated negatively with CASA sperm motility (group 1: r = −0.39; group 2: r = −0.36) and percentage of World Health Organization category A motile sperm. In multiple linear regression analysis, concentration and SCSA parameters, but not the time of abstinence, were statistically significant predictors of sperm motility.: Conclusion(s)There is a moderate correlation between sperm motility and SCSA parameters. The study supports the assumption that both SCSA and motility can be relatively independent predictors of male fertility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]