Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis type) severity shows inverse correlation with semen parameters and testosterone levels.

ABSTRACT: Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been reported to be at an increased risk of infertility and sexual dysfunction. Although the relationship between them remains unclear, IBD severity is suspected to affect hormone levels and fertility. To analyze the impact of IBD severity on semen parameters and sex hormone levels in ulcerative colitis-type IBD (UC-IBD), we conducted a cross-sectional study involving 120 patients with UC-IBD in Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan, Indonesia. The patients were classified into three groups based on the Mayo score for UC, followed by a comparison of various semen and hormone parameters among these groups. In addition to the cross-sectional analysis, a simple correlation test was conducted irrespective of the patient grouping. Sperm concentration, motility, and morphology were found to decline significantly with an increase in IBD severity. Without classifying patients with IBD into subgroups, the Mayo score showed negative correlations with sperm concentration (r = -0.375, P < 0.0001), rapid progressive motility (r = -0.660, P < 0.0001), free testosterone (r = -0.732, P < 0.0001), and total testosterone (r = -0.721, P < 0.0001), and positive correlations with immotile sperm (r = 0.660, P < 0.0001), abnormal morphology (r = 0.657, P < 0.0001), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG; r = 0.278, P = 0.002). Sperm concentration, motility, and morphology declined significantly with the severity of IBD. This study suggests a significant negative impact of IBD severity on semen quality and sex hormones.

Semen and sex-steroid parameters among inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis type according to rectal bleeding grade.

INTRODUCTION: Hypogonadism and inflammato-ry bowel disease (IBD) are often associated. This association may influence sexual and reproductive function in IBD, including sperm profile and sex steroid hormones. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study included 59 IBD patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis type IBD. Anamnesis was carried out regarding the history of the disease, along with a history of rectal bleeding. Evaluation proceeded with sperm and hormone examination if the patient agreed. RESULTS: Progressive motility sperm, immotile sperm, and normal sperm were found to be significantly different between the rectal bleeding groups. In grade 3 (more significant bleeding) progressive sperm (24.81 ± 5.85, p < 0.0001) and normal sperm (6.33 ± 12.56, p = 0.0003) rates tended to be lower, while immotile sperm tended to be higher (44.48 ± 11.21, p < 0.0001). Testosterone and free testosterone levels were also reported to be significantly different between groups, where grade 3 had lower levels 255.9 ± 30.08, p = 0.014 and 4.645 ± 0.5, p = 0.002 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the degree of rectal bleeding influences sperm motility and morphology, as well as testosterone and free testosterone levels. These results can concern managing IBD patients to fulfill reproductive health care.