Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study participants according to tertiles of ultra-processed food consumption in the Led-Fertyl study.
| UPF consumption (% of energy from UPF) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | T2 | T3 | |||
| n | n = 67 | n = 67 | n = 66 | P-value | |
| UPF consumption, % energy | 200 | 12.2 ± 3.4 | 20.4 ± 1.8 | 29.5 ± 5.3 | <0.001 |
| UPF consumption, NOVA 4, g/day | 200 | 141.9 ± 73.6 | 227.4 ± 86.5 | 342.3 ± 126.3 | <0.001 |
| Processed foods consumption, NOVA 3, g/day | 200 | 35.0 [25.7–55.0] | 49.9 [26.4–60.0] | 33.6 [25.7–50.0] | 0.059 |
| Processed culinary ingredients consumption, NOVA 2, g/day | 200 | 390.7 [217.0–480.8] | 372.4 [241.3–502.9] | 308.7 [223.3–471.1] | 0.432 |
| Unprocessed and minimally processed foods consumption, NOVA 1, g/day | 200 | 1322.3 ± 455.5 | 1142.8 ± 379.8 | 1017.5 ± 274.4 | <0.001 |
| Demographic characteristics | |||||
| Age (years) | 200 | 28.2 ± 6.1 | 28.8 ± 5.7 | 28.2 ± 4.8 | 0.754 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 200 | 24.0 ± 2.6 | 24.4 ± 3.1 | 24.8 ± 3.8 | 0.430 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 200 | 81 [77–83.6] | 82 [77.3–87.8] | 84.6 [76.7–90.5] | 0.167 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 200 | 127.2 ± 10.2 | 127.7 ± 9.94 | 128.1 ± 10.8 | 0.881 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 200 | 73.5 ± 8.9 | 73.2 ± 7.6 | 75.1 ± 10.9 | 0.461 |
| Physical activity (MET/h/week) | 200 | 4065 [2239–6182] | 3282 [1681–4918] | 3142 [1795–4774] | 0.083 |
| Abstinence time (days) | 200 | 3.5 [2.4–4.2] | 3.5 [3–4.7] | 3.3 [2.5–4.5] | 0.311 |
| Educational level (n, %) | 200 | 0.499 | |||
| High school or less | 21 (31.3) | 23 (34.3) | 27 (40.9) | ||
| College or high education | 46 (68.6) | 44 (65.7) | 39 (59.1) | ||
| Monthly income (n, %) | 167 | 0.009 | |||
| Less than 1000 € | 15 (22.4) | 6.0 (5.97) | 12 (18.2) | ||
| Between 1000 € and 2000 € | 40 (59.7) | 43 (64.2) | 47 (71.2) | ||
| More than 2000 € | 12 (17.9) | 20 (29.9) | 7 (10.6) | ||
| Smoking, n (%) | 188 | 0.142 | |||
| Never | 56 (83.6) | 49 (73.1) | 44 (66.7) | ||
| Current | 4 (6.0) | 8 (11.9) | 13 (19.7) | ||
| Former | 7 (10.5) | 10 (14.9) | 9 (13.6) | ||
| Civil status (n, %) | 200 | 0.232 | |||
| Single | 49 (73.1) | 49 (73.1) | 56 (84.9) | ||
| Married | 6 (9.0) | 10 (14.9) | 4 (6.1) | ||
| Other | 12 (17.9) | 8 (11.9) | 6 (9.1) | ||
| Semen parameters | |||||
| pH | 200 | 8.5 [8–8.5] | 8.5 [8–8.5] | 8.5 [8.5–8.5] | 0.124 |
| Semen volume (ml) | 200 | 3.5 [2.4–4.2] | 3.5 [3–4.7] | 3.3 [2.5–4.5] | 0.311 |
| Sperm concentration (×106/ml) | 200 | 55.5 [31.32–85.6] | 51.08 [33.18–91.5] | 41.5 [20.9–65.7] | 0.037 |
| Total sperm count (×106) | 200 | 158.5 [104.5–286.3] | 213.1 [126.8–332.5] | 127.0 [72.3–245.4] | 0.015 |
| Total motility (%) | 200 | 61.2 ± 16.7 | 61.2 ± 15.8 | 56.3 ± 19.5 | 0.175 |
| Progressive motility (%) | 200 | 44.41 ± 18.0 | 45.1 ± 16.3 | 40.8 ± 17.7 | 0.312 |
| Normal sperm morphology (%) | 199 | 10 [5–15] | 8.5 [4.5–17] | 8 [4.5–14] | 0.587 |
| Sperm vitality (%) | 199 | 85 [79–91] | 80 [72.5–85] | 81 [74–87.5] | 0.014 |
| Blood parameters | |||||
| Plasma glucose (mg/dl) | 199 | 88.7 ± 7.6 | 89.1 ± 6.9 | 89.1 ± 6.4 | 0.931 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dl) | 200 | 174.0 ± 26.8 | 173.9 ± 28.9 | 173.4 ± 28.5 | 0.990 |
| HDL-c (mg/dl) | 197 | 57.9 ± 13.0 | 56.9 ± 11.6 | 54.4 ± 11.6 | 0.226 |
| LDL-c (mg/dl) | 197 | 99.4 ± 26.6 | 99.4 ± 27.3 | 100.0 ± 25.1 | 0.989 |
BMI, body mass index; METS, metabolic equivalent of task; T, tertile; UPF, ultra-processed food. Values are reported as means ± standard deviations or median (Pc25–Pc75) for continuous variables and number (%) for categorical variables. P-value was calculated by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test or Kruskal–Wallis test for continuous normal or non-normal distributed variables, respectively. Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables.