The Relationship between Dietary Vitamin A and β-carotene Intake and Parameters of Semen Analysis

Background: Oxidative stress has been known as a cause of male infertility, and antioxidants have been considered as an effective agent against oxidative stress. Present study was con-ducted to determine the relationship between dietary intake of vitamin A and β-carotene and sperm analysis parameters.Materials and Methods: A descriptive-correlational study was performed on 190 healthy men who had inclusion criteria in the study and referred to the Fertility and Infertility Center of Sha-hid Beheshti in Isfahan,Iran (2016-2017). The dietary intakes of vitamin A and β-carotene were obtained by Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and Nutritionist IV software. Data analy-sis was performed using software SPSS version 16.Results: The average vitamin A and β-carotene intake in men was 2081.81 ± 1451.47 mcg and 1485.026 ± 1316.41 mcg re-spectively. The results showed that the average amount of vi-tamin A and β-carotene were not significantly related to sperm analysis (P> 0.05).Conclusion: The dietary intake of vitamin A and β-carotene were not significantly correlated with sperm analysis parame-ters (volume, count, motility, morphology and number of WBC in semen fluid). Cohort and follow-up studies are needed to track the fertility results of men in different groups of fertility and to examine the integrity of the sperm DND to achieve more accurate results in male fertility.

Keywords:

Male Infertility , Semen Analysis , Antioxidant , vita-min A , β-carotene