Semen Quality and Ferritin and Transferrin Seminal Levels.

BACKGROUND

We proposed to investigate the possible relationship between seminal quality and ferritin and transferrin seminal levels in chronic hemodialysis (CH) patients.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study in a group of 60 men (case) undergoing CH for more than 6 months, and a group of 30 healthy men (control), aged 18-60 years, without clinical or laboratory signs of infection/inflammation and eugonadic. A spermogram was performed by manual method and measured the ferritn and transferrin seminal levels.

RESULTS

The case and control groups were age-matched (49.47±5.56 versus 47.90±6.22, p = 0.229). Comparison between case and control group, the exception of seminal ferritin levels that were similar (p = 0.136), were significantly lower in the case group (p<0.001) for all constituents of the seminal parameter and seminal transferrin levels. Seminal ferritin does not appear to be associated with seminal parameters and seminal transferrin (p>0.05); but there was an association between seminal transferrin and seminal parameters (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that seminal quality is related to seminal transferrin level and not with seminal ferritin level being useful in the initial evaluation of chronic hemodialysis patients with clinical suspicion of sub / infertility.