Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32387273›Full record

ArticleFertility and sterility2020

Semen quality among young healthy men taking protein supplements.

Sandra Søgaard Tøttenborg, Clara Helene Glazer, Katia Keglberg Hærvig, Birgit Bjerre Høyer, Gunnar Toft, Karin Sørig Hougaard, Esben Meulengracht Flachs, Laura Deen, Jens Peter Ellekilde Bonde, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen

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Article in Fertility and sterility, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sandra Søgaard TøttenborgDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: sandra.soegaard.toettenborg@regionh.dk.
Clara Helene GlazerDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Urology, Rigshospitalet, København, Denmark.
Katia Keglberg HærvigDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Birgit Bjerre HøyerDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Research Unit for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Gunnar ToftDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Karin Sørig HougaardDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Esben Meulengracht FlachsDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Laura DeenDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jens Peter Ellekilde BondeDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Univsersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Cecilia Høst Ramlau-HansenDepartment of Public Health, Research Unit for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo study the association between use of protein supplements (PS) and semen quality among young men.

designCross-sectional study.

settingNot applicable PATIENT(S): We used data from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality (FEPOS) cohort, which is a subsample of 778 men whose mothers enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort 1996-2002. INTERVENTION(S): Semen samples were collected from April 2017 to March 2019. Relative difference in semen characteristics according to self-reported PS use was estimated with negative binomial regression adjusting for lifestyle factors including exercise, body mass index, and use of anabolic steroids, and maternal and paternal factors potentially confounding the association between PS and semen quality. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Negative binomial regression yielded the best fit and was used to estimate the percent difference with 95% confidence intervals in semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, proportions of progressive, nonprogressive, and immotile sperm, and percentage of morphologically normal sperm in former and current users of PS relative to never users. RESULT(S): PS was used currently by 28% and formerly by 24% of participants. PS use was not associated with reduced semen quality in terms of semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, morphology, or motility in either crude or adjusted analyses.

conclusionThis study showed no association between use of PS and semen quality characteristics. Still, we encourage others to repeat the study, as even a small harmful effect would have a large impact on the population level because of the widespread use of PS among young men.

Indexed as

Semen AnalysisAdultCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesDenmarkDietary ProteinsDietary SupplementsHealthy VolunteersHumansMaleMotivationOccupational ExposureQuality ControlSportsYoung AdultDietary Proteinscreatinereproductive healthSperm countsports nutrition productstraining

Identifiers

PMID32387273

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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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.