Adenosine triphosphate in semen and other sperm characteristics: their relevance for fertility prediction in men with normal sperm concentration. World Health Organization Task Force on the Prevention and Management of Infertility.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the power of sperm characteristics and of the semen content of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in predicting the occurrence of pregnancy in infertile couples.

DESIGN

This is a prospective study monitoring the occurrence of pregnancy during 400 days of follow-up.

SETTINGS: Couples were recruited in 10 centers, and data were analyzed at the World Health Organization Headquarters.

PATIENTS: Of 361 couples recruited, 306 satisfied the following criteria: infertility of at least 12 months' duration, anatomically normal female ovulating regularly, sperm concentration greater than 20 x 10(6)/mL, valid semen data, and ATP available before conception.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The occurrence of pregnancy.

RESULTS

Ninety-six couples (31.4%) achieved conception. Duration of infertility less than 3 years was associated with higher conception rate (41.1%) than longer duration (28.2%). None of the semen characteristics nor the ATP content predicted the occurrence of pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Neither conventional sperm characteristics nor semen ATP can predict the occurrence of pregnancy among couples in which the female partner is normal and the male partner has sperm concentration greater than 20 x 10(6)/mL.