Association of Chlamydia Trachomatis Sero-Positivity with Male Infertility in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria: A Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION

The role of chlamydia infection in the causation of male infertility has not been conclusively evaluated, especially in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa that are worst affected by infertility. Understanding the relationship between the two will guide the deployment of preventive efforts and investigative approaches more scientifically.

PATIENTS MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This was a case-control study of two groups of males: 68 male partners of infertile couples with abnormal semen parameters attending a fertility clinic and 68 age-matched male partners (with normal semen parameters) of females attending the family planning clinic as controls at two tertiary hospitals in Delta State. The prevalence of chlamydial sero-positivity, the socio-demographic characteristics, sexual and reproductive characteristics, and chlamydial serology of all the participants were determined and compared using appropriate statistical tools.

RESULTS

Most (41.2%) of the participants were in the 35-39 years age category; they were all married and were mostly (66.2%) skilled workers. The overall prevalence of chlamydia sero-positivity in this study was 11.8%. The prevalence of chlamydia sero-positivity was significantly higher amongst the study group (19.1%) compared with controls (4.4%) (P < 001). Chlamydial sero-positivity was significantly associated with oligospermia and teratozoospermia. On bivariate analysis, being in the infertile group (crude OR: 5.12, P = 0.008), history of a genital ulcer (crude OR: 0.124, P = 0.042), and history of dysuria (P = 0.008) were significantly associated with chlamydial trachomatis sero-positivity. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, none of these covariates were found to be independent predictors of chlamydia trachomatis sero-positivity.

CONCLUSION

There was a significant association between chlamydia trachomatis infection and abnormal semen parameters. There were no identified independent predictors of chlamydia trachomatis sero-positivity.