Cytogenetic studies among Iranian infertile men: The first 20-year long-term report

Chromosomal aberrations have been postulated to be one of the principal genetic factors in male infertility and occur in about 2 to 3% of unselected patients with proven sub-fertility. This rate is estimated to be 5 to 7% in patients with oligospermia, increasing to 10 to 15% in patients with azoospermia. The aim of this study was to report the frequency of all chromosomal aberrations among Iranian infertile men. In this 20-year retrospective study, we investigated 829 men which were referred to our department due to infertility. Karyotyping was performed on peripheral blood lymphocytes according to standard methods. Out of 829 patients, 557 patients (67.19%) had normal karyotype and 272 patients (32.81%) showed abnormal chromosomes. Klineferlter syndrome, found in 195 patients (23.52%), was the most frequent aberration in our study. The remaining 77 cases (9.29%) showed a variety of abnormal karyotypes.