Table 3. Summary of the main studies comparing BMI and sperm DNA fragmentation.
| Population | N | Technique | Observations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kort et al. (2006)3 | Male partner in subfertile couples | 520 | SCSA (flow cytometry) | Higher sperm DNA fragmentation rate in overweight and obese men compared with men with normal BMI |
| Chavarro et al. (2010)1 | Male partner in subfertile couples | 413 | COMET assay | Higher sperm DNA fragmentation rate in obese men compared with men with normal BMI |
| Fariello et al. (2012)8 | Male partner in subfertile couples | 305 | COMET assay | |
| LaVignera et al. (2012)9 | Healthy non smoking men | 150 | TUNEL assay (flow cytometry) | |
| Tunc et al. (2010)4 | Male partner in subfertile couples | 81 | TUNEL assay (slides) | No association between BMI and DNA fragmentation |
| Rybar et al. (2011)7 | Male partner in subfertile couples | 153 | SCSA (flow cytometry) | |
| Hammiche et al. (2011)2 | Male partner in subfertile couples | 175 | SCSA (flow cytometry) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; COMET assay, also know as single-cell gel electrophoresis assay; SCSA, sperm chromatin structure assay; TUNEL, terminal uridine nick-end labelling.