One abstinence day decreases sperm DNA fragmentation in 90 % of selected patients.

Purpose: The aim of this prospective descriptive study was to evaluate the efficacy of reducing sexual abstinence as a strategy to decrease sperm DNA fragmentation.

Methods: Men with one or more of the following characteristics were included in the study: older than 44, smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day, with a body mass index over 25, diabetes mellitus, varicocele, a previous chemotherapy treatment, severe oligozoospermia, prostatitis, cryptorchidism, having a partner with recurrent miscarriage and/or implantation failure, poor embryo morphology and/or fertilization failure. Patients were asked to produce a semen sample after 3 to 7 abstinence days which was subjected to a sperm DNA fragmentation test.