SynthesisDrugs2023
Effectiveness of Nutritional Therapies in Male Factor Infertility Treatment: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Drugs, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Treatment Options for Improving The Semen Quality in Obese Men: A Scoping Review.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Review
- Do different male infertility factors impact embryological, cumulative pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in IVF/ICSI cycles? A retrospective cohort study.Human reproduction open · 2025Article
- Homotherapy for heteropathy of chronic kidney disease and oligoasthenozoospermia through regulating SIRT1/NF-κB pathway by Shenqi pills.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Obesity and male infertility - a tenuous relationship: Facts discerned for the busy clinicians.Arab journal of urology · 2025Review
- Uncovering the link between inflammatory rheumatic diseases and male reproductive health: a perspective on male infertility and sexual dysfunction.Rheumatology international · 2024Review
- Catalyzing IVF outcome prediction: exploring advanced machine learning paradigms for enhanced success rate prognostication.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2024Article
- Association between dietary total antioxidant capacity and semen quality among men attending an infertility clinic: a cross-sectional study.Human reproduction open · 2023Article
- Bioactive compounds as potential alternative treatments to prevent cancer therapy-induced male infertility.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNutritional therapies are effective alternative treatments for male infertility or subfertility. These are cost-effective and easily implementable, unlike other advanced invasive treatments. Even moderate improvements in sperm quality could improve spontaneous pregnancy.
objectiveWe aimed to compare the effectiveness of all nutritional therapies in male infertility/subfertility treatment and ranked their efficacy based on type and etiology. We intend to aid clinicians with an evidence-based approach to affordable and safer initial infertility treatment for those who mainly do not wish to have other advanced invasive treatments or could not afford or have access to them.
methodsWe included 69 studies with 94 individual study arms identified from bibliographic databases and registries. We included studies in adult men with proven infertility or subfertility that investigated nutritional or dietary supplement therapies compared with control or placebo and at least reported on a sperm parameter. We undertook a network meta-analysis and performed a pairwise meta-analysis on all sperm parameter outcomes and meta-regression. No language or date restriction was imposed. A systematic article search was concluded on August 29, 2022.
resultsOur network meta-analysis is the first to compare all dietary interventions in a single analysis, sub-grouped by intervention type and type of infertility. L-Carnitine with micronutrients, antioxidants, and several traditional herbal supplements showed statistically and clinically significant improvement in sperm quality. Meta-regression identified that improvement in the sperm count, motility and morphology translated into increased pregnancy rates (p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p < 0.002, respectively). In particular, L-carnitine with micronutrient therapy (risk ratio [RR]: 3.60, 95% CI 1.86, 6.98, p = 0.0002), followed by zinc (RR 5.39, 95% CI 1.26, 23.04, p = 0.02), significantly improved pregnancy rates. Men with oligozoospermia (RR 4.89), followed by oligoasthenozoospermia (RR 4.20) and asthenoteratozoospermia (RR 3.53), showed a significant increase in pregnancy rates.
conclusionWe ranked nutritional therapies for their ability to improve sperm quality in men with infertility. Nutritional therapies, particularly L-carnitine alone or combined with micronutrients, significantly improved sperm parameters and pregnancy rates even under severe conditions. We believe these affordable solutions may be valuable for people without access to or who do not wish to undergo more invasive and costly fertility treatments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.