Metabolic Syndrome and Male Infertility (Metasperme)

Relationship Between Sperm Parameters and Metabolic Syndrome in a Infertile Couple Partner Man

Multidisciplinary, multicentric, cross-sectional study on men in infertile couples who conduct their sperm test through their diagnosis of infertility

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Male Infertility
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Blood sample, sperm sample and clinical examens

Detailed Description

Assessment of sperm parameters and metabolic syndrome relations in men attending a Reproductive Biomedicine centre for an infertility of their couple.

Secondary objectives are to study relationship between sperm parameters and:

• adiposity and insulin resistance
• inflammation
• oxydative stress in blood and semen
• hormonal status Innovative parameters will also be assessed to determine the quality of semen (length of fingers, wrist circumference and epigenetics studies)

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 170

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Bondy, France, 93140
    • Jean Verdier Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Man consulting for primary or secondary infertility, with or without earlier notion of paternity

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 to 45 years-old man
• man consulting for primary or secondary infertility, with or without earlier notion of paternity
• patient insured with a social security scheme
• patient who have had a prior medical consultation
• patient who have done informed and written consent to participate in the research study

Exclusion Criteria:

• patient with problems understanding French
• patient smoking more than two-pack-a-day
• patient monitoring for viral risk.

• man with an unidiopathic infertility which may be explained by:

  1) identifiable factors in direct questioning at the sperm analysis:

• exposure to toxic products
• infectious disease history
• pathological anatomical background 2) factors identified at the etiologic investigation: cytogenetic and genetic

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Infertile men; Man partner of an infertile couple. Blood sample, sperm sample and clinical examens will be done at the day of the inclusion	Other: Blood sample, sperm sample and clinical examens; Blood sample, sperm sample and clinical examens will be done at the day of the inclusion

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of spermatozoid and their relation with syndrome metabolic parameters	We will measure the parameters of metabolic syndrome (triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose) and correlate them with the number of spermatozoid .	Day 0

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Relationship between spermogram and spermocytogram and other metabolic parameters	Relationship between other spermogram/spermocytogram and metabolic markers (biomarkers and anthropometric adiposity and insulin resistance)	Day 0
Environmental parameters	Evaluation of environmental parameters (physical activity, tobacco consumption, quality of life) by classical questionnaire	Day 0
Relationship between spermogram and spermocytogram and other metabolic parameters	Relationship between other spermogram/spermocytogram and markers of inflammation	Day 0
Relationship between spermogram and spermocytogram and other metabolic parameters	Relationship between other spermogram/spermocytogram and markers of oxidative stress (plasma, seminal genetic polymorphisms involved in oxidative stress, genetic analyzes of sperm)	Day 0
Relationship between spermogram and spermocytogram and other metabolic parameters	Relationship between other spermogram/spermocytogram and hormonal markers	Day 0
Relationship between spermogram and spermocytogram and other metabolic parameters	Relationship between other spermogram/spermocytogram and innovative settings (studies epigenetic finger length and width of the wrist)	Day 0

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
• Collaborators: URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rachel Lévy, MD, PhD, Tenon Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Sermondade N, Faure C, Fezeu L, Shayeb AG, Bonde JP, Jensen TK, Van Wely M, Cao J, Martini AC, Eskandar M, Chavarro JE, Koloszar S, Twigt JM, Ramlau-Hansen CH, Borges E Jr, Lotti F, Steegers-Theunissen RP, Zorn B, Polotsky AJ, La Vignera S, Eskenazi B, Tremellen K, Magnusdottir EV, Fejes I, Hercberg S, Levy R, Czernichow S. BMI in relation to sperm count: an updated systematic review and collaborative meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2013 May-Jun;19(3):221-31. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dms050. Epub 2012 Dec 12.
• Hammoud AO, Gibson M, Peterson CM, Meikle AW, Carrell DT. Impact of male obesity on infertility: a critical review of the current literature. Fertil Steril. 2008 Oct;90(4):897-904. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.08.026.
• Sermondade N, Faure C, Fezeu L, Levy R, Czernichow S; Obesity-Fertility Collaborative Group. Obesity and increased risk for oligozoospermia and azoospermia. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Mar 12;172(5):440-442. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.1382.
• Michalakis K, Mintziori G, Kaprara A, Tarlatzis BC, Goulis DG. The complex interaction between obesity, metabolic syndrome and reproductive axis: a narrative review. Metabolism. 2013 Apr;62(4):457-78. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2012.08.012. Epub 2012 Sep 20.
• Bongrani A, Elfassy Y, Brun JS, Rame C, Mellouk N, Fellahi S, Bastard JP, Levy R, Vasseur C, Froment P, Dupont J. Expression of adipokines in seminal fluid of men of normal weight. Asian J Androl. 2019 Sep-Oct;21(5):528-530. doi: 10.4103/aja.aja_25_19. No abstract available.
• Elfassy Y, Bongrani A, Levy P, Foissac F, Fellahi S, Faure C, McAvoy C, Capeau J, Dupont J, Feve B, Levy R, Bastard JP; Metasperme group. Relationships between metabolic status, seminal adipokines, and reproductive functions in men from infertile couples. Eur J Endocrinol. 2020 Jan;182(1):67-77. doi: 10.1530/EJE-19-0615.
• Saget S, Kappeler L, Grandjean V, Leneuve P, Berthaut I, Faure C, Czernichow S, Racine C, Levy R, Dupont C; Metasperme Collaboratif group. Association between metabolic disorders and seminal plasma miRNA levels: a pilot study. Basic Clin Androl. 2022 Jun 7;32(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s12610-022-00159-7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 18, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 20, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): January 20, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 26, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 1, 2013
• First Posted (Estimated): November 4, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 20, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 17, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Metabolic syndrome; Biomarkers; Male infertility; Epigenetic; Sperm parameters
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Genital Diseases, Male; Male Urogenital Diseases; Metabolic Diseases; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Insulin Resistance; Hyperinsulinism; Infertility; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Metabolic Syndrome; Infertility, Male; Investigative Techniques; Specimen Handling; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Punctures; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Blood Specimen Collection
• Other Study ID Numbers: NI 10033