Does weight loss improve semen quality and reproductive hormones? results from a cohort of severely obese men

Table 2 Differences in semen characteristics and reproductive hormone levels according to weight loss

Adjusted mean (95% CI) differences in semen and hormone levels	Weight loss in percent (%)			Test for trend*
	3.5 - 12.1 (n = 10^#)	12.2 - 17.1 (n = 10^#)	17.2 - 25.4 (n = 10^#)	P -value
Sperm concentration (millions/ml)^{a, c, d}	-11 (-49, 27)	19 (-23, 61)	17 (-24, 58)	0.33
Semen volume (ml)^c	-1.0 (-2.3, 0.3)	1.5 (-0.4, 3.5)	1.3 (-0.9, 3.4)	0.04
Total sperm count (millions)^{a, c}	-41 (-147, 65)	232 (77, 387)	193 (45, 341)	0.02
Normal sperm morphology (%)^{a, b, c}	0 (-2, 4)	1 (-3, 4)	4 (1, 7)	0.16
Motile sperm (%)^{a, c, d, e}	-2 (-15, 11)	4 (-10, 18)	11 (-3, 25)	0.22
DFI (%)^{a, b, c, d}	7 (-2, 17)	-1 (-11, 9)	0 (-10, 10)	0.96
Testosterone (nmol/L)^{a, b}	0.7 (-1.1, 2.5)	3.3 (1.4, 5.2)	3.7 (2.0, 5.4)	0.02
Estradiol (nmol/L)	-0.03 (-0.05, 0)	-0.02 (-0.05, 0)	-0.01 (-0.03, 0.01)	0.93
SHBG (nmol/L)^{a, b}	1.7 (-2.2, 5.5)	5.0 (1.0, 9.0)	5.0 (1.4, 8.5)	0.03
FSH (iu/L)^a	0.1 (-0.3, 0.6)	0.3 (-0.3, 0.8)	0.1 (-0.3, 0.6)	0.95
LH (iu/L)^{a, b}	0.7 (-0.6, 2.0)	1.2 (-0.1, 2.6)	0.3 (-0.9, 1.5)	0.85
Inhibin B (pg/ml)^{a, b}	-30.1 (-51.7, -8.4)	-22.3 (-44.8, 0.2)	-13.6 (-33.6, 6.4)	0.34
AMH (ng/ml)^{a, b}	-0.29 (-0.65, 0.07)	-0.02 (-0.42, 0.38)	0.24 (-0.09, 0.59)	0.02
Free androgen index (FAI)^{a, b}	-3.7 (-13.3, 6.0)	3.5 (-6.5, 13.6)	6.5 (-2.4, 15.4)	0.43
Free testosterone/free estradiol ratio^a	15.0 (0.5, 29.4)	38.3 (22.1, 54.4)	25.7 (11.4, 40.0)	0.18

CI, confidence interval. *Trends were tested by multiple regression analyses with weight loss in percent entered as a continuous explanatory variable. #This number of participants (n) relates to the differences in hormone parameters, except for AMH. The numbers in the groups for the following variables are: sperm concentration n = 9, n = 9, n = 9; semen volume n = 7, n = 4, n = 4; total sperm count n = 6, n = 4, n = 4; morphology n = 9, n = 9, n = 9; motility n = 8, n = 9, n = 9, DFI n = 8, n = 9, n = 9 and AMH n = 10, n = 9, n = 10
The means are adjusted for the following: difference in season (a), difference in smoking status (b), difference in abstinence time (c), difference in spillage at semen sampling (d) and difference in minutes from ejaculation to start of semen analysis (e).

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