SynthesisSports health
Effectiveness of Exercise Training on Male Factor Infertility: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06867627 (Effect of Moderate-intensity Combined Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Semen Quality in Chinese College Students), which is not on this map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Effect of Moderate-intensity Combined Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Semen Quality in Chinese College Students
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise intervention improves fertility outcomes in females and males: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Simultaneous semen and urine biomonitoring of neonicotinoids and associations with semen quality in men.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Male infertility and risk of cardiometabolic conditions: a population-based cohort study.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Determinants of male fertility in the Western Pacific Region: environmental, biological, and lifestyle influences.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Review
- Optimal Exercise Intensity for Enhancing Sperm Parameters: A Network Meta-Analysis of Rodent Studies.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025Review
- The Impact of Physical Exercise on Male Fertility Through Its Association with Various Processes and Aspects of Human Biology.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- 'Exerkines': A Comprehensive Term for the Factors Produced in Response to Exercise.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- The influence of lifestyle and biological factors on semen variability.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2024Article
- Diabetes-induced male infertility: potential mechanisms and treatment options.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Review
- Association of diet and lifestyle factors with semen quality in male partners of Chinese couples preparing for pregnancy.Reproductive health · 2023Article
- Male Fertility and Physical Exercise.The world journal of men's health · 2023Review
- Infertility in Men: Advances towards a Comprehensive and Integrative Strategy for Precision Theranostics.Cells · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextMounting evidence from the literature suggests that different types of training interventions can be successful at improving several aspects of male reproductive function in both fertile and infertile populations.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise training on male factor infertility and seminal markers of inflammation. DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, CISCOM, Springer, Elsevier Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, PEDro, Ovid (Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO), Sport Discus, Orbis, CINAHL, Web of Science, ProQuest, and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that analyzed the impacts of selected types of exercise interventions on markers of male reproductive function and reproductive performance. STUDY SELECTION: A total of 336 records were identified, of which we included 7 trials reporting on 2641 fertile and infertile men in the systematic review and network meta-analysis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1 (because this is a systematic review of RCTs). DATA EXTRACTION: The data included the study design, participant characteristics, inclusion and exclusion, intervention characteristics, outcome measures, and the main results of the study.
resultsThe results of network meta-analysis showed that, compared with a nonintervention control group, the top-ranking interventions for pregnancy rate were for combined aerobic and resistance training (CET) (relative risk [RR] = 27.81), moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) (RR = 26.67), resistance training (RT) (RR = 12.54), high-intensity continuous training (HICT) (RR = 5.55), and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) (RR = 4.63). While the top-ranking interventions for live birth rate were for MICT (RR = 10.05), RT (RR = 4.92), HIIT (RR = 4.38), CET (RR = 2.20), and HICT (RR = 1.55). Also, with the following order of effectiveness, 5 training strategies were significantly better at improving semen quality parameters (CET > MICT > HICT > RT > HIIT), seminal markers of oxidative stress (CET > MICT > HIIT > HICT > RT), seminal markers of inflammation (CET > MICT > HIIT > RT > HICT), as well as measures of body composition and VO
conclusionThe review recommends that the intervention with the highest probability of being the best approach out of all available options for improving the male factor infertility was for CET.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.