Low levels of dietary folate and sperm abnormalities

Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm. Recent studies have suggested that paternal diet affects sperm count and motility, which is important for conception, but this new study takes it further to say that male diet may be important for healthy offspring as well. Our study is the first to look at the effects of diet on chromosomal abnormalities in sperm. These abnormalities would cause either miscarriages or children with genetic syndromes if the sperm fertilized an egg.

Studies have shown that adequate intake of folate by women just before and during pregnancy significantly reduces the risk of neural tube birth defects, such as spina bifida or anencephaly. Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin that occurs naturally in a wide range of foods, particularly liver, leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits and legumes. It is needed during the synthesis of DNA, RNA and proteins, and it is necessary for the production of new cells. Folate also helps keep in check levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that, when elevated, is linked to heart disease.

An estimated 1 to 4 percent of a healthy male's sperm have abnormal numbers of chromosomes, or aneuploidy, that are caused by errors during cell division (meiosis) in the testis. However, the causes of these errors are not well understood. If these abnormal sperm fertilize a normal egg, there would either be a miscarriage or a fetus with a chromosomal disorder such as trisomy, in which cells have three rather than the normal two copies of a given chromosome. (For more information click on the top link).