ArticleAmerican journal of epidemiology2017
What Does a Single Semen Sample Tell You? Implications for Male Factor Infertility Research.
Article in American journal of epidemiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trends in Semen Quality: A Contrasting Perspective From a Single-Centre Review in Ireland.Andrology · 2026Article
- Cost Considerations of Direct to Consumer Infertility Testing and Sperm Cryopreservation.Current urology reports · 2026Review
- A prospective study of semen quality and fecundability among North American couples planning pregnancy.Andrology · 2026Article
- Comparing remote smartphone-based semen assessments with laboratory evaluations in men unselected for fertility concerns.Fertility and sterility · 2025Article
- Intraindividual variability of semen quality, proteome, and sncRNA profiles in a healthy cohort of young adults.Andrology · 2025Article
- Mini-Puberty, Physiological and Disordered: Consequences, and Potential for Therapeutic Replacement.Endocrine reviews · 2024Review
- The influence of lifestyle and biological factors on semen variability.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2024Article
- [Association analysis between mixed exposure to phenols and semen quality].Se pu = Chinese journal of chromatography · 2024Article
- Self-Rated Health and Semen Quality in Men Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology.JAMA network open · 2024Article
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- The association between healthy eating index score with semen parameters in infertile men: A cross-sectional study.International journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2022Article
- Maternal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Male Reproductive Function in Young Adulthood: Combined Exposure to Seven PFAS.Environmental health perspectives · 2022Article
- Physical activity and sperm quality: influence in sperm donors.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2022Article
- Same total normal forms sperm counts of males from Lhasa and Shanghai, China.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- Association between ambient particulate matter exposure and semen quality in fertile men.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2022Article
- Association between intake of soft drinks and testicular function in young men.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2021Article
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- Antioxidant Vitamins and Carotenoids Intake and the Association With Poor Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Men Referring to an Italian Fertility Clinic.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
- Circulating sex hormone levels in relation to male sperm quality.BMC urology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Semen parameters are variable within individuals, but it is unclear whether 1 semen sample could represent a man's long-term average values in epidemiologic studies. Between 2005 and 2014, a total of 329 men from a fertility clinic in Boston, Massachusetts, provided 768 semen samples as part of the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) Study. Total sperm count, sperm concentration, morphology, motility, and ejaculate volume were assessed. We used linear mixed models to compare values from men's first semen samples with their long-term averages and to calculate intraclass correlation coefficients for each parameter. We calculated positive predictive values (PPVs) and negative predictive values (NPVs) by comparing agreement in classification according to World Health Organization reference limits. There were no differences in mean semen parameters between men's first samples and the remaining replicates. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.61 for morphology to 0.75 for concentration, indicating consistently greater between-man variability than within-man variability. Nevertheless, using 1 sample alone resulted in high NPVs but low PPVs (range, 43%-91%). The average of 2 samples was needed to achieve high PPVs (range, 86%-100%) and NPVs (range, 91%-100%). We conclude that 1 semen sample may suffice for studies aimed at identifying average differences in semen quality between individuals. Studies aimed at classifying men based on World Health Organization reference limits may benefit from collection of 2 or more samples.
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