High-Intensity Exercise Training for Improving Reproductive Function in Infertile Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this RCT was to investigate whether a 24-week program of high-intensity exercise was beneficial for improving reproductive function in infertile male patients.

METHODS: Infertile men (n = 433) were randomly assigned to exercise (n = 218) and non-exercise (n = 215) groups. The seminal markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, semen quality parameters, sperm DNA fragmentation, and pregnancy rate were measured at baseline, at the end of week 12, at the end of week 24, and at 7 and 30 days during recovery. Exercise programs included a treadmill running protocol, three times a week, at an intensity >70% to 85% of maximal oxygen consumption.

RESULTS: The exercise group reported significantly attenuated inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α), oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde), and antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and total antioxidant capacity) (P < 0.05), and these changes coincided with favorable improvements in semen parameters, sperm DNA integrity, and pregnancy rate (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that our exercise training program was adequate to elicit improvements in markers of male reproductive function in infertile patients.

CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that a high-intensity exercise program could be recommended as an adjunct lifestyle approach to male factor infertility treatment or used in combination with other therapies.