Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26780872›Full record

SynthesisAsian journal of andrology

Effect of varicocele on semen characteristics according to the new 2010 World Health Organization criteria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ashok Agarwal, Reecha Sharma, Avi Harlev, Sandro C Esteves

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Asian journal of andrology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07665905 (Investigation of the Effects of Visceral Osteopathic Massage Techniques on Semen Parameters and Hemodynamic Factors in Men With Varicocele), which is not on this map. Cited by 56 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
11.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07665905 nanot yet recruitingnot on this map

Investigation of the Effects of Visceral Osteopathic Massage Techniques on Semen Parameters and Hemodynamic Factors in Men With Varicocele: A Randomized Controlled Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorAnkara Yildirim Beyazıt UniversityRan2026 to 2027Enrolled32ConditionsVaricocele, InfertilityArmsVisceral Osteopathic Massage Techiques
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

56 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ashok AgarwalAmerican Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, 10681 Carnegie Avenue, X-11, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Reecha Sharma
Avi Harlev
Sandro C Esteves
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev · ILCleveland Clinic · USSaint Joseph's University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of varicocele on semen parameters in infertile men based on the new 2010 World Health Organization laboratory manual for the examination of human semen. Semen analysis results (volume, sperm count, motility, and morphology) were the primary outcomes. An electronic search to collect the data was conducted using the Medline/PubMed, SJU discover, and Google Scholar databases. We searched articles published from 2010 to August 2015, i.e., after the publication of the 2010 WHO manual. We included only those studies that reported the actual semen parameters of adult infertile men diagnosed with clinical varicocele and contained a control group of either fertile men or normozoospermic men who were not diagnosed with varicocele. Ten studies were included in the meta-analysis, involving 1232 men. Varicocele was associated with reduced sperm count (mean difference: -44.48 × 10 [6] ml-1 ; 95% CI: -61.45, -27.51 × 10 [6] ml-1 ; P < 0.001), motility (mean difference: -26.67%; 95% CI: -34.27, -19.08; P < 0.001), and morphology (mean difference: -19.68%; 95% CI: -29.28, -10.07; P < 0.001) but not semen volume (mean difference: -0.23 ml; 95% CI: -0.64, 0.17). Subgroup analyses indicated that the magnitude of effect was influenced by control subtype but not WHO laboratory manual edition used for semen assessment. We conclude that varicocele is a significant risk factor that negatively affects semen quality, but the observed pooled effect size on semen parameters does not seem to be affected by the WHO laboratory manual edition. Given most of the studies published after 2010 still utilized the 1999 manual for semen analysis, further research is required to fully understand the clinical implication of the 2010 WHO laboratory manual on the association between varicocele and semen parameters.

Indexed as

AdultHumansMaleSemenSemen AnalysisSperm CountVaricoceleWorld Health Organization

Identifiers

PMID26780872
PMCPMC4770480
OpenAlexW2254974306

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.