ABSTRACT
Background: There is an association between aging ana an increased number ofsperms with alterations in nuclear DNA. Aim: To study the association between age and fragmentation of sperm DNA. Material andMethods: Sixty two volunteers provided semen for analysis. These were separated in a group aged less than forty years and a second group aged more than forty years. Sperm DNA fragmentation was studied by TÚNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nick end-labeling) and SCD (sperm chromatin dispersión test) assays. Results: Compared with theiryounger counterparts, patients aged more than 40years had a higher proportion ofsperms with DNA fragmentation by TÚNEL (20 ±1.3 and24 ± 1.9 percent respectively, p < 0.05) and SCD (22 ± 1.4 and26 ± 1.6 percent respectively, p < 0.05). The results ofboth assays had a correlation coefficientofO.8. No differences between groups were observed for other seminal parameters. Conclusions: Sperm DNA fragmentation increases with age in males.