Conventional semen parameters and DNA fragmentation in relation to fertility status in a Greek population.

Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the possible correlations between conventional seminal parameters and DNA fragmentation in specific groups of Greek men, selected in relation to their fertility history and to verify the validity of the recent WHO reference values for the basic semen analysis in this population.

Study Design: A total of 770 subject data were evaluated in three distinct groups: fertile men with children naturally conceived within one year of unprotected intercourse (n=78), subfertile men, having achieved pregnancies either naturally or by Assisted Reproduction Techniques, not resulting in live births (n=153) and infertile men, failing to produce either pregnancies or children (n=539). Semen volume, sperm concentration, total count, rapid and total progressive motility and morphology were evaluated following the World Health Organization (2010) methods.