SPERMATOZOA DNA DAMAGE IN MEN WITH REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS

Male infertility is a serious emerging problem of public health, with high social significance due to its direct connection to negative demographic trends in Bulgaria and in different regions of the world. The targeted and multifaceted studies in this field are contradictory and incomplete. Purpose: The present study analyzes the degree of spermatozoa DNA damages in men with reproductive problems. The aim of the study was to investigate the spermatozoa DNA damage in men with reproductive problems by complex approach combining comet assay and conventional sperm analysis. Material and methods: Totally 80 individuals have been studied by the usage of the conventional sperm analysis and the comet assay. The impact of environmental and lifestyle factors was analyzed based on completing the participants' voluntary questionnaire. Results: About 21% of the participants among the studied group were undergoing occupational hazards, 22% were smokers, 42% - alcohol consumers, 13% - drug users, 7% taking anabolic steroids, 31% - taking medications and 5% work or live under stress. The results obtained show that about 55% of the subjects studied were with normozoospermia, 19% - with asthenozoospermia, 13% - with oligoasthenozoospermia, 10% - with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and 3% - with asthenoteratozoospermia. Elevated levels of mean values of comet parameters were observed when the concentration, motility and percentage of cells with normal morphology were decreased (p<0.05). Conclusions: The statistically significant relationships between the analyzed characteristics could be successfully used for prognostic purposes in characterizing male reproductive health. The results of our study also confirmed that some environmental factors affecting negatively sperm structure and function should continue to be a significant public health concern nowadays.