The Relationship Between Serum Zinc Concentration , Serum Testosterone Concentration and Semen Parameters In Infertile Men

Abstract

Objective : to find out the relationship of zinc concentrations in blood and serum testosterone concentrations with various semen parameters between fertile and infertile men .Design : prospective study Setting : this study was carried out in infertility clinic of Al – Batool teaching Hospital in Mosul .Subjects and Methods : one hundred infertile male subjects without any treatment aged 25 – 50 years , were selected from infertility clinic at Al – Batool Teaching Hospital. After semen analysis they were grouped as oligospermic. Fifty known fertile male selected from general population and after semen analysis they were taken as normospermic control group . Blood samples were taken from each subject in the morning for serum zinc and testosterone estimation. Serum zinc was estimated using atomic absorption , serum testosterone was was estimated using minividus technique .Result : Anon – significant negative correlation between serum zinc and semen volume in infertile subjects was found , while a significant positive correlation was found between serum zinc and sperm count ,motility, morphology and serum testosterone. Also we found that serum zinc level and serum testosterone level were significantly lower in infertile men as compared to control men. Conclusion : on the basis of the findings of this study and those of other reports , zinc may contribute to fertility through its significant effects on various semen parameters and testosterone concentrations . It seems that the estimation of serum zinc may help in investigation and treatment of infertile