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. 2015 Mar 30;30(6):1342–1351. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dev064

Table I.

Baseline characteristics of the study population according to quartiles of fruit and vegetable intake.

Characteristics High pesticide residue fruit and vegetable intake
Total Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 P valuea
Number of men 155 38 39 39 39
Median, serving/d 0.9 0.4 0.7 1.1 2.1
Range (min, max) 0.2, 3.6 0.2, 0.6 0.6, 0.9 0.9, 1.5 1.5, 3.6
Median (IQR) or n (%)
Demographics
 Age, years 36.1 (33.0, 39.2) 33.9 (31.8, 38.4) 34.8 (32.9, 38.8) 36.7 (33.8, 38.7) 36.7 (35.1, 41.4) 0.01
 BMI, kg/m2 27.0 (24.2,29.1) 27.8 (26, 29.2) 26.7 (23.7, 29.1) 26.9 (24.2, 28.9) 29.5 (23.7, 29.5) 0.58
 Never smokers, n% 98 (63) 19 (50) 26 (66.7) 27 (69.2) 26 (66.7) 0.28
 Moderate-vigorous exercise, h/week 3.2 (1.0, 7.2) 2.4 (0.3, 4) 2.5 (0.9, 5.7) 5.0 (1.2, 7.5) 4.0 (1.0, 8.0) 0.11
 White, n% 129 (83) 34 (89.5) 32 (82.1) 32 (82.1) 31 (79.5) 0.68
 Abstinence time, hours 58.5 (45.5, 81.0) 51.0 (36.0, 81.0) 61.0 (49.0, 77.0) 56.5 (47.5, 81.5) 56.5 (47.0, 84.0) 0.78
 Time from FFQ completion to first semen collection, days 158 (82, 258) 185 (80, 248) 112 (51, 296) 118 (39, 253) 199 (127, 256) 0.31
Season of sample collection (338 semen samples) 0.72
 Spring, n% 79 (23) 25 (30) 18 (19) 22 (25) 14 (20)
 Summer, n% 73 (22) 15 (18) 21 (22) 20 (22) 17 (24)
 Fall, n% 92 (27) 25 (30) 27 (28) 20 (22) 20 (28)
 Winter, % 94 (28) 18 (22) 29 (31) 27 (30) 20 (28)
Diet
 Alcohol, g/day 9.9 (2.6, 19.3) 9.7 (2.9, 15.8) 10.6 (2.9, 23.5) 9.9 (5.2, 17.3) 8.9 (1.4, 17.6) 0.67
 Caffeine, g/day 143 (55, 245) 114 (53, 224) 151 (99, 281) 243 (123, 299) 120 (40, 244) 0.007
 High-fat dairy intake, serv/d 1.0 (0.6, 1.7) 0.9 (0.6, 1.7) 0.9 (0.6, 1.7) 1.0 (0.6, 1.3) 1.0 (0.5, 1.9) 0.95
 Low-fat dairy intake, serv/d 0.8 (0.3, 1.2) 0.5 (0.1, 0.9) 0.6 (0.2, 1.1) 1.0 (0.6, 1.5) 0.9 (0.3, 1.3) 0.01
 Processed meat intake, serv/d 0.4 (0.2, 0.6) 0.4 (0.3, 0.6) 0.4 (0.2, 0.6) 0.4 (0.2, 0.5) 0.4 (0.2, 0.7) 0.72
 Total fish intake, serv/d 0.2 (0.1, 0.3) 0.2 (0.1, 0.2) 0.2 (0.2, 0.3) 0.3 (0.1, 0.3) 0.2 (0.1, 0.3) 0.08
 Total carbohydrate, % energy 48.3 (42.5, 54.6) 46.9 (42.8, 55.8) 46.4 (41.6, 53.5) 50.9 (45, 54.4) 49.5 (45, 56.4) 0.22
 Total protein, % energy 16.1 (14.5, 17.6) 15.9 (13.6, 17.3) 15.9 (14.5, 17.3) 16.6 (15.2, 17.9) 15.9 (14.7, 18.6) 0.51
 Total fat, % energy 32.0 (27.4, 35.6) 32.3 (27.7, 35.4) 32.8 (29.4, 36.8) 30.5 (26.6, 33.2) 33 (26.7, 35.7) 0.41
 Total energy intake, kcal/day 2033 (1634, 2486) 1769 (1339, 2384) 1913 (1429, 2258) 2096 (1794, 2528) 2258 (1879, 2808) 0.005
 Prudent pattern scoreb −0.1 (−0.7, 0.5) −0.9 (−1.3, −0.6) −0.5 (−0.7, −0.2) 0.1 (−0.1, 0.5) 1.0 (0.3, 1.7) <0.0001
 Western pattern scoreb −0.2 (−0.7, 0.5) −0.2 (−0.7, 0.5) −0.1 (−0.8, 0.7) −0.2 (−0.9, 0.5) −0.2 (−0.4, 0.6) 0.80
Self-reported reproductive history, n%
 Male factor infertility diagnosis 44 (28) 9 (24) 13 (33.3) 9 (23.1) 13 (33) 0.86
 Previous infertility exam 118 (76) 26 (68.4) 29 (74.4) 32 (82.1) 31 (79.5) 0.52
 History of cryptorchidism 6 (4) 1 (2.6) 2 (5.1) 2 (5.1) 1 (2.6) 1.00
 History of varicocele 15 (10) 6 (15.8) 5 (12.8) 3 (7.7) 1 (2.6) 0.17
 Any reproductive surgeryc 6 (5) 2 (6.9) 1 (3.2) 3 (11.1) 0 (0) 0.36

IQR, interquartile range; FFQ, food frequency questionnaire; serv/d, serving/day.

aFor continuous variables, Kruskal–Wallis analyses were used to test for associations across quartiles of fruit and vegetable intake. For categorical variables, Fisher's exact tests were used to test the associations between quartiles of fruit and vegetable intake.

bDietary patterns were constructed by factor analysis as described in Gaskins et al. (2012). A higher score indicates higher adherence to the prudent or western dietary patterns.

cReport of any of the following: orchidopexy, varicocelectomy, hydrocelectomy, hernia repair, urethral repair, hypospadias repair, sympathectomy, bladder neck surgery or other reproductive surgery.