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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Reproduction
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1530972
This article is part of the Research Topic Oxidative Stress and Male Fertility View all 8 articles

Impact of Sperm DNA Fragmentation Index on Assisted Reproductive Outcomes: A Retrospective Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Bin Yang Bin Yang 1Leizhen Xia Leizhen Xia 2Rufei Deng Rufei Deng 1*Liping Wu Liping Wu 2*Zhiqin Zhang Zhiqin Zhang 2*Xingwu Wu Xingwu Wu 2*Tao Ding Tao Ding 2*Yan Zhao Yan Zhao 2*Jialyu Huang Jialyu Huang 2*Zhihui Huang Zhihui Huang 2*
  • 1 Medical Center of Burn plastic and wound repair, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
  • 2 Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: The role of sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in fertility remains controversial.Herein, we analyzed its association with semen parameters, embryonic development, and pregnancy outcomes after in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Additionally, we assessed whether DFI had a potential impact on long-term maternal and neonatal complications.Methods: A total of 5,271 women who underwent IVF treatment for the first time between October 1, 2020, and July 31, 2023, were included from an academic fertility center. Participants were categorized into three groups based on sperm DFI: DFI < 15%, 15 ≤ DFI < 30%, and DFI ≥ 30%.We collected data on patient demographics, semen parameters, embryonic development, clinical outcomes, maternal and infant complications. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to control for potential confounders.The DFI value was negatively correlated with semen quality in males. High DFI affected the blastocyst formation rate (56.44%, 55.32%, 53.72%, respectively; P=0.045) and the rate of transferable embryos (3.97 ± 2.71, 3.90 ± 2.7, 3.38 ± 2.4, respectively; P<0.001); however, no significant difference in pregnancy outcomes was observed among the three groups. Elevated DFI did not contribute to clinically relevant adverse maternal events during pregnancy, but it was associated with an increased risk of low birth weight (3.9%, 6.6%, 10.1%, respectively; P=0.006) in newborns.Conclusions: Sperm DFI could influence embryonic development, with a higher risk of low birthweight infants in the high DFI group. However, it does not appear to affect clinical outcomes or other perinatal complications. The role of DFI as a predictive factor in assisted reproduction, especially regarding offspring outcomes, requires further investigation with larger sample sizes.

    Keywords: sperm DNA fragmentation index, Embryonic Development, pregnancy outcomes, Perinatal outcomes, neonatal complications

    Received: 19 Nov 2024; Accepted: 27 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yang, Xia, Deng, Wu, Zhang, Wu, Ding, Zhao, Huang and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Rufei Deng, Medical Center of Burn plastic and wound repair, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
    Liping Wu, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China
    Zhiqin Zhang, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China
    Xingwu Wu, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China
    Tao Ding, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China
    Yan Zhao, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China
    Jialyu Huang, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China
    Zhihui Huang, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital,, Nanchang, China

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