Soy Food and Isoflavone Intake in Relation to Semen Quality Parameters Among Men from an Infertility Clinic

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chavarro JE ; Hauser R ; Sadio SM ; Toth TL
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: High isoflavone intake has been related to decreased fertility in animal studies, but data in humans are scarce. Thus, we examined the association of soy foods and isoflavones intake with semen quality parameters. METHODS: The intake of 15 soy-based foods in the previous 3 months was assessed for 99 male partners of subfertile couples who presented for semen analyses to the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. Linear and quantile regression were used to determine the association of soy foods and isoflavones intake with semen quality parameters while adjusting for personal characteristics. RESULTS: There was an inverse association between soy food intake and sperm concentration that remained significant after accounting for age, abstinence time, body mass index, caffeine and alcohol intake and smoking. In the multivariate-adjusted analyses, men in the highest category of soy food intake had 41 million sperm/ml less than men who did not consume soy foods (95% confidence interval = -74, -8; P, trend = 0.02). Results for individual soy isoflavones were similar to the results for soy foods and were strongest for glycitein, but did not reach statistical significance. The inverse relation between soy food intake and sperm concentration was more pronounced in the high end of the distribution (90th and 75th percentile) and among overweight or obese men. Soy food and soy isoflavone intake were unrelated to sperm motility, sperm morphology or ejaculate volume. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that higher intake of soy foods and soy isoflavones is associated with lower sperm concentration. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Alcoholic Beverages Animals Endocrine System Laboratories Men Occupational Health Safety Smokers Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Alcohol Author Keywords: Soy BMI Body Mass Index Caffeine Fertility Hormone Activity Hormones Humans Infertility Isoflavones Laboratory Animals Reproductive Health Semen Analysis Smoking Sperm Concentration Statistical Analysis

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• ISSN:
  0268-1161
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  23
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054553
• Citation:
  Hum Reprod 2008 Nov; 23(11):2584-2590
• Contact Point Address:
  Jorge E. Chavarro, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA
• Email:
  jchavarr@hsph.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Human Reproduction
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a3f5ae8d31ae195105df4126ea54e76aaf31e6a29c16e266cfc273c908d43530700b02880bb6332a3aa788b25d2cf0e2bfdc2c5b27b91086f20890ee142b7a69
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217081/cdc_217081_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 109.92 KB ]