Cytogenetic Analysis in Infertile Male Patients with Oligospermia and Azoospermia in the Southern Region of Iran, Shiraz

Background: Infertility was found to affect approximately 10%-15% of the couples, worldwide. Male factors are responsible for at least 50% of the infertility cases. The chromosomal abnormality is more common in infertile men than in fertile men. However, the aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and type of major chromosomal abnormalities in the infertile men with problems in their sperm count, who had been referred to cytogenetic center in Shiraz, the main referral center in southern Iran. Materials and Methods: A total of 433 infertile males, with azoospermia [169(31%)] and oligospermia [264(69%)], were included in this prospective observational study. Samples were retrospectively collected from the infertile males, and examined by karyotype analysis. Results: The findings revealed that there are 17.3% chromosomal problems, in which 14.3% and 3% of all cases exhibited numerical and structural abnormalities, respectively. Among the 433 infertile patients, 57(33%) exhibited a numerical sex chromosome abnormality, including 49 (11.3%) subjects with typical Klinefelter syndrome, 4 (2.95%) ones with structural sex chromosome and 11 (4.4%) ones with the autosomal chromosome abnormality. Conclusion: The results from this study demonstrated that chromosomal abnormalities are common in the infertile men with a higher frequency of sex chromosomal abnormality, especially those with the numerical type. This highlights the importance of karyotype findings to make appropriate decisions regarding the management of the patients in infertility clinics.