National Journal of Laboratory Medicine (Jul 2023)
Effects of Paternal Age on Semen Quality and Status of Fertility at a Tertiary Care Hospital, West Bengal, India: A Cross-sectional Study
Abstract
Introduction: Modern couples are inclined to postpone conception as a result of societal pressures and expectations during the last several decades. The impact of age on spermatogenesis in men is not much studied. While there are no known limits to the age at which men can father the children, the implications of Advanced Paternal Age (APA) are poorly understood. Aim: To assess the relationship between advancing age and aberrant sperm parameters in the male partners of sub fertile couples in West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out in the Department of Physiology, R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India, from February 2020 to January 2021. A total of 56 male subjects of couples, who have been screened as subfertile, in the age group of 21-40 years were enrolled in the study. Semen analysis was done by light microscopy using a Makler counting chamber after three days of abstinence according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 5th edition 2010 guidelines. The data was evaluated with the use of an Microsoft Excel sheet and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 by employing a Chi-square test. Results: In the present study, the study population consisted of 56 male partners of subfertile couples with a mean age of 29.68±5.87 years. Thirty one subjects (55.4%) out of 56 subjects had abnormal semen parameters. Most common abnormality detected was asthenozoospermia (n=10, 17.9%) followed by oligoasthenozoospermia (n=9, 16.1%) and oligozoospermia (n=6, 10.7%). There was significant association of APA with aberrant semen parameters. Conclusion: While asthenozoospermia was the most common semen abnormality, oligoasthenozoospermia was mostly found among the males of higher age groups. Clinicians could advise genetic counselling and DNA fragmentation assay to potentially prevent mishaps of delayed paternity.
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