ArticleThe world journal of men's health2025
Anti-sperm Antibody Positivity in Men with Varicocele: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Article in The world journal of men's health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of varicocele surgical repair on antisperm antibody positivity rate in patients with clinical varicocele: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of Varicocele on Pregnancy and Live Birth Outcomes in Men with Clinical Varicocele: Systematic Review of Controlled Studies.The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Does the Quality and Readability of Information Related to Varicocele Obtained from ChatGPT 4.0 Remain Consistent Across Different Models of Inquiry?The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- Recent Trends in the Management of Varicocele.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- From imaging techniques to laboratory tests: a multimodal stratification for varicocele-associated decreased semen quality.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 11 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeDespite the significant role of varicocele in the pathogenesis of male infertility, its association with anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) remains controversial. This systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) aims to investigate the frequency of ASA positivity in men with varicocele. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis SRMA is conducted in accordance with the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. We investigated the frequency of ASA positivity in ejaculates or serum of men with varicocele as compared to men without varicocele (controls). A literature search was performed using the Scopus and PubMed databases following the Population Exposure Comparison Outcome, Study Design model. Data extracted from eligible studies were meta-analyzed and expressed as odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsOut of 151 abstracts identified during the initial screening, 6 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Using mixed antiglobulin reaction (MAR) assay, 61 out of the 153 (39.8%) patients with varicocele tested positive for ASA in their ejaculates as compared to 22 out of the 129 control subjects (17%, OR=4.34 [95% CI: 1.09-17.28]; p=0.04). Using direct or indirect immunobead test, 30 out of 60 cases diagnosed with varicocele (50%) had shown ASA positivity in their ejaculates as compared to 16 out of 104 controls (15.4%, OR=3.57 [95% CI: 0.81-15.68]; p=0.09). Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), out of 89 varicocele patients, 33 (37.1%) tested positive for serum ASA as compared to 9 out of 57 participants in the control group (15.8%, OR=7.87 [95% CI: 2.39-25.89]; p<0.01).
conclusionsThis SRMA indicates that ASA positivity is significantly higher among men with varicocele when tested by direct method (MAR) or indirect method (ELISA). This data suggests an immunological pathology in infertile men with varicocele and may have implications for the management of these patients.
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