Association between serum Vitamin D levels and sperm DNA fragmentation index in varicocele patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Authors

Tianhong Cai, Rong Zhang, Kai Chen, Jianfeng He, Tenghui Zhan

Published in

Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E. Volume 23. Issue 1. Pages 101. Jul 17, 2025. Epub Jul 17, 2025.

Abstract

While varicocele is a major cause of male infertility, the role of vitamin D in sperm DNA integrity remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between serum vitamin D levels and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in varicocele patients.
This retrospective cohort study conducted at Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital included 355 varicocele patients aged 18-45 years (June 2021-June 2024). The primary exposure was serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level, and the primary outcome was DFI. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the association between vitamin D and DFI, adjusting for age, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption, and other confounders.
A significant inverse association was found between vitamin D levels and DFI (β = -0.24, 95% CI: -0.28 to -0.19, P < 0.0001). Piecewise linear regression identified a threshold at 25.9 nmol/L, below which the inverse association was more pronounced (β = -1.0, 95% CI: -1.2 to -0.8, P < 0.001).
Serum vitamin D levels have been demonstrated to be significantly associated with the rate of sperm DNA fragmentation index in patients with varicocele, particularly at levels below 25.9 nmol/l.

PMID:
40676614
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 18 Jul 2025.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.