High dietary intake of saturated fat is associated with reduced semen quality among 701 young Danish men from the general population

doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.042432

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Volume 97, Issue 2, February 2013, Pages 411-418

https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.042432 Get rights and content

Under an Elsevier user license

open archive

ABSTRACT

Background:

Saturated fat intake has been associated with both cardiovascular disease and cancer risk, and a newly published study found an association between saturated fat intake and a lower sperm concentration in infertile men.

Objective:

The objective was to examine the association between dietary fat intake and semen quality among 701 young Danish men from the general population.

Design:

In this cross-sectional study, men were recruited when they were examined to determine their fitness for military service from 2008 to 2010. They delivered a semen sample, underwent a physical examination, and answered a questionnaire comprising a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire to assess food and nutrient intakes. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed with semen variables as outcomes and dietary fat intakes as exposure variables, adjusted for confounders.

Results:

A lower sperm concentration and total sperm count in men with a high intake of saturated fat was found. A significant dose-response association was found, and men in the highest quartile of saturated fat intake had a 38% (95% CI: 0.1%, 61%) lower sperm concentration and a 41% (95% CI: 4%, 64%) lower total sperm count than did men in the lowest quartile. No association between semen quality and intake of other types of fat was found.

Conclusions:

Our findings are of potentially great public interest, because changes in diet over the past decades may be part of the explanation for the recently reported high frequency of subnormal human sperm counts. A reduction in saturated fat intake may be beneficial for both general and reproductive health.

Cited by (0)

^¹: From the University Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Denmark (TKJ, MBJ, A-MA, NES, UNJ, MPL, PC, THL, and NJ); the Department of Environmental Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark (TKJ and CD); the Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospitals, Copenhagen, Denmark (BLH); the Unit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland (TIH); and the Center for Fetal Programming, Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum, Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark (TIH).

^²: Supported by The Danish Council for Strategic Research, Program Commission on Health, Food and Welfare (project no. 2101-08-0058), Rigshospitalet (grant 961506336), European Union, DEER (grant agreement no. 212844), The Danish Ministry of Health, The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, and Kirsten and Freddy Johansens Foundation (grant 95-103-72087).

^³: Address correspondence to TK Jensen, University Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected].