Some men might have damaged sperm that will increase the risk of pregnancy complications and health problems in newborns, a new study finds.
DNA defects in sperm can double the risk of preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy complication involving high blood pressure.
These defects also increase the risk of premature birth, the researchers added.
“The next step is to identify which group of men respond best to methods to prevent and treat sperm DNA damage, and to test these methods to prevent pregnancy complications,” said researcher Amelie Stenqvist, a lecturer at Lund University in Sweden.
About 20% to 30% of babies born through in vitro fertilization (IVF) have fathers with damaged DNA in their sperm, researchers said in background notes.
Doctors can measure this damage through tests of DNA fragmentation in sperm, which produce a measure called the DNA fragmentation index (DFI).
Sperm with a DFI percentage greater than 30% have a close-to-zero chance of natural conception.
However, little is known about how DNA fragmentation might impact the health of mother or child following IVF, researchers said.
“Since half of the placenta’s DNA comes from the father and placental development and function play a central role in preeclampsia, we wanted to investigate whether a high percentage of DNA damage in the sperm affected the risk of preeclampsia,” said researcher Aleksander Giwercman, a professor of reproductive medicine at Lund University.
For the study, researchers analyzed data on nearly 850 couples who underwent IVF.
Results show that a sperm DFI of more than 20% doubled the risk of preeclampsia, to nearly 11%, compared with 5% among pregnancies resulting from sperm with a DFI of less than 20%.
“Today, DFI analysis is only performed at some fertility clinics in Sweden, but we think that it should be introduced as standard at all clinics. It can give couples answers as to why they are not getting pregnant and can influence the chosen method of assisted fertilization,” Giwercman said in a university news release. “Not only that, our latest results show that a DFI analysis could be used to identify high-risk pregnancies.”
High DNA fragmentation is also potentially treatable, researchers noted. Most DNA damage in sperm is caused by factors like oxidative stress, age, smoking, obesity and infections.
The new study was published recently in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
More information
The University of Washington has more on sperm DNA fragmentation.
SOURCE: Lund University, news release, Oct. 11, 2024
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