Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38606758›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of men's health

The Clinical Investigation on Varicocele and Sperm Quality in the Tibet an Plateau of China: A Prospectively Planned Retrospective Cohort Study.

Bo Wang, Xiaoxing Liu, Huan Xu, Shu Shang, Danfeng Yan, Jie Deng, Yanfeng Li, Weihua Lan, Dali Tong

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of men's health. 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
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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.

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 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Risk factors associated with varicocele: a narrative review.Translational andrology and urology · 2025
    Review
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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Bo WangThe 957th Hospital of the Army, High Altitude Medical Research Center Workstation of PLA, Ngari(Ali), P. R. China.
Xiaoxing LiuDepartments of Laboratory Medicine, Ali People's Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region, Ngari(Ali), P. R. China.
Huan XuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The General Hospital of Tibet Military Command Area, Lhasa, P. R. China.
Shu ShangDepartment of Urological Surgery, People's Hospital of Kaiyang County, Guiyang, P. R. China.
Danfeng YanThe 957th Hospital of the Army, High Altitude Medical Research Center Workstation of PLA, Ngari(Ali), P. R. China.
Jie DengDepartment of Urological Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical Center of PLA, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P. R. China.
Yanfeng LiDepartment of Urological Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical Center of PLA, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P. R. China.
Weihua LanDepartment of Urological Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical Center of PLA, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-1186-195X
Dali TongDepartment of Urological Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical Center of PLA, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0001-9698-8671
Army Medical University · CNTibet Autonomous Region People's Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Varicoceles are a common cause of male infertility, affecting up to 35% of men undergoing fertility evaluations. This study aims to investigate the potential influence of altitude and residence time on the occurrence of varicoceles, as well as on sperm quality and sterility in plateau areas. A total of 168 patients with varicocele were enrolled in the study, and the study population was divided into groups based on their direct exposure to different high altitudes due to their living locations. The internal diameter in Quiet breath (Dr), internal diameter in Valsalva maneuver (Dv), reflux peak value, and reflux time are gradually increased accompanied with altitude elevation and residence time extension. The number of cases above 4,500 m also increased with the severity of varicocele, and the altitude of clinical types was higher than that of subclinical types of varicocele. Especially above 4,500 m, the Dv, Dr, reflux peak value, and reflux time all increased with the severity of varicocele. The severity of varicocele was positively correlated with the residence time in plateau area. Patients with residence time of more than 1 year had higher values of Dr, Dv, differentiation time, reflux peak value, and reflux time than those with residence time of less than 1 year. Compared to 3,650 m, patients with varicocele in 4,500 m also have worse semen quality. Both altitude and residence time are strongly positively related to the severity and incidence rate of varicocele in plateau areas.

Indexed as

Infertility, MaleVaricoceleChinaHumansMaleRetrospective StudiesSemenSemen AnalysisSpermatozoaTibetaltituderesidence timesperm qualityvaricocele

Identifiers

PMID38606758
PMCPMC11010762
OpenAlexW4394762910

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.