Semen Quality, Hormonal Levels, and Androgen Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in a Population of Young Male Volunteers from Two Different Regions of Poland

BACKGROUND The population of healthy Polish men has not been frequently and systematically investigated for fertility status. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of semen in a randomly recruited population of young males. The most important task was to find a relationship between semen parameters, sex hormones, and AR gene polymorphism. MATERIAL AND METHODS Semen and blood samples from young men from the Poznan (n=113) and Lublin regions (n=89) were collected for semen analysis, assessment of hormonal concentrations, and calculation of the CAG and GGN repeats of the AR gene. RESULTS Statistical comparisons of the hormones and circulating proteins and the seminological parameters revealed significant differences between the regional groups of males studied. Among the correlations found, we emphasize the positive relationship between inhibin B levels and both the number of spermatozoa per ml (R=0.37; p=0.0001) and the total sperm concentration (R=0.40; p=0.00003). Positive correlations between IGF1 and sperm morphology was also found (R=0.40; p=0.000004). The mean number of CAG repeats in our tested groups was 21.93±2.79, in a range from 16 to 31. The mean number of GGN repeats was 23.2±1.66 and ranged from 16 to 29. Numerous significant correlations were found between CAG or GGN repeats and blood hormones or circulating proteins and semen parameters; however, Spearman's rank correlations revealed rather weak coefficients. CONCLUSIONS This report attempted to determine the quality of semen samples and sex hormones in a population of Polish young men. The results were found to be similar to data obtained in Scandinavia. The calculated means and range of CAG or GGN repeats of the AR gene in Polish males were similar to West European epidemiological data.