Comparison of Ischemia-Modified Albumin Levels in Infertile Men with Mild, Moderate, and Severe Oligozoospermia

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study is to determine whether IMA (Ischemic Modified Albumin), a new oxidative stress marker, can be used to predict the degree of oligozoospermia in infertile men. Materials and Methods: Oligozoospermic male patients (n=113) who remained infertile despite regular, unprotected sexual intercourse for more than 12 months were included in the study. Those with sperm counts of 10–16 × 10⁶/ml were classified as having mild oligozoospermia (group 1, n=32), those with counts of 5–9. 9 × 10⁶/ml were classified as moderate oligozoospermia (group 2, n=42), and those with <5 × 10⁶/ml were classified as severe oligozoospermia (group 3, n=39). Additionally, normospermic (>16 × 10⁶/ml) fertile men with at least one child (group 4, n=47) were included as the control group. Results: When IMA levels were compared between the infertile group and the control group, they were found to be statistically significantly higher in the infertile group (p=0.002). When the oligozoospermia groups were compared with the control group, the difference between the groups was found to be statistically significant (p=0.017). The IMA level of the severe oligozoospermia group was found to be significantly higher than the IMA levels of the control, moderate, and mild oligozoospermia groups (p<0.05); however, the IMA levels of the moderate and mild oligozoospermia groups did not show a statistically significant difference from the control group (p>0.05). The IMA levels of the general study group were found to show a statistically significant difference according to sperm motility (p=0.001). In addition, the IMA levels of patients with varicocele were found to be significantly higher (p=0.035). IMA showed a positive correlation with estradiol (p = 0.004) and triiodothyronine (p = 0.022) levels. Conclusion: This study suggests that IMA may be used as a potential biomarker for predicting severe oligozoospermia in infertile men.