Semen Quality and Metabolic Biomarker Changes Following a 12-Week Combined Exercise Program in Healthy Adult Men: A Non-Randomized Controlled Intervention Study
8 affiliations
- 1Department of Urology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, 06170 Ankara, Türkiye
- 2Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas, Türkiye
- 3Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas, Türkiye
- 4Department of Exercise and Sports Science for Disabled People, Faculty of Health Sciences, International Science and Technology University, 02-264 Warsaw, Poland
- 5Coaching and Movement Sciences Department, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Düzce University, 81620 Düzce, Türkiye
- 6Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Istanbul Topkapi University, 34330 Istanbul, Türkiye
- 7Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences for Persons with Disabilities, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Istanbul Gelisim University, 34310 Istanbul, Türkiye
- 8Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Hitit University, 19030 Çorum, Türkiye
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Male reproductive health is increasingly considered an integrated physiological outcome influenced by lifestyle, body composition, metabolic status, and endocrine regulation. This study examined changes in semen quality, body composition, glucose metabolism, and reproductive hormonal profile associated with participation in a 12-week combined exercise program in healthy adult men. Methods: Thirty-four healthy men aged 18–24 years were included in a two-arm, non-randomized, parallel-group controlled intervention study and were allocated, according to their willingness and availability rather than by randomization, to either an exercise group (n = 17) or a passive control group (n = 17). The exercise group completed a supervised combined aerobic and resistance exercise program three times per week for 12 weeks, whereas the control group maintained usual lifestyle habits and did not participate in structured exercise. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and week 12. Body composition, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, reproductive hormones, conventional semen parameters, and predefined derived semen indices were analyzed. Conventional semen parameters were the primary outcomes; body composition, glucose-metabolism, and hormonal markers were secondary outcomes; and derived semen indices were exploratory. Time × group interactions were evaluated using two-way mixed repeated-measures ANOVA. Between-group differences in change are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and a Holm–Bonferroni sensitivity analysis was applied across the 20 interaction tests. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov ([NCT07778576]). Results: Significant time × group interactions were observed for BMI, body fat percentage, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR, favoring the exercise group. Total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin increased, whereas estradiol and prolactin decreased in the exercise group; follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone remained unchanged. Semen volume, sperm concentration, total motility, progressive motility, total sperm count, total motile sperm count, and progressive motile sperm count improved in the exercise group compared with the control group (e.g., between-group difference in change in progressive motility: 4.55 percentage points, 95% CI 3.66 to 5.44; total motile sperm count: 5.60 million, 95% CI 2.18 to 9.02). No significant interactions were observed for non-progressive motility or Kruger strict morphology. After Holm–Bonferroni adjustment, the interactions for semen volume, total sperm count, and estradiol were no longer statistically significant. Conclusions: A 12-week combined exercise program was associated with favorable metabolic, hormonal, and selected semen-quality changes in healthy adult men. Given the non-randomized design, small sample size, single semen sample at each time point, and absence of fertility endpoints, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis-generating rather than evidence of clinical reproductive benefit.
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BibTeX
@article{dogan2026semen,
title = {{Semen Quality and Metabolic Biomarker Changes Following a 12-Week Combined Exercise Program in Healthy Adult Men: A Non-Randomized Controlled Intervention Study}},
author = {Ahmet Emin Doğan and Barış Sarıakçalı and Nuriye Sarıakçalı and Heidar Sajedi and Mehmet Bayansalduz and Yunus Şahinler and Levent Ceylan},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/jcm15218415},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8415},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Semen Quality and Metabolic Biomarker Changes Following a 12-Week Combined Exercise Program in Healthy Adult Men: A Non-Randomized Controlled Intervention Study
AU - Ahmet Emin Doğan
AU - Barış Sarıakçalı
AU - Nuriye Sarıakçalı
AU - Heidar Sajedi
AU - Mehmet Bayansalduz
AU - Yunus Şahinler
AU - Levent Ceylan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
DO - 10.3390/jcm15218415
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8415
AB - Background/Objectives: Male reproductive health is increasingly considered an integrated physiological outcome influenced by lifestyle, body composition, metabolic status, and endocrine regulation. This study examined changes in semen quality, body composition, glucose metabolism, and reproductive hormonal profile associated with participation in a 12-week combined exercise program in healthy adult men. Methods: Thirty-four healthy men aged 18–24 years were included in a two-arm, non-randomized, parallel-group controlled intervention study and were allocated, according to their willingness and availability rather than by randomization, to either an exercise group (n = 17) or a passive control group (n = 17). The exercise group completed a supervised combined aerobic and resistance exercise program three times per week for 12 weeks, whereas the control group maintained usual lifestyle habits and did not participate in structured exercise. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and week 12. Body composition, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, reproductive hormones, conventional semen parameters, and predefined derived semen indices were analyzed. Conventional semen parameters were the primary outcomes; body composition, glucose-metabolism, and hormonal markers were secondary outcomes; and derived semen indices were exploratory. Time × group interactions were evaluated using two-way mixed repeated-measures ANOVA. Between-group differences in change are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and a Holm–Bonferroni sensitivity analysis was applied across the 20 interaction tests. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov ([NCT07778576]). Results: Significant time × group interactions were observed for BMI, body fat percentage, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR, favoring the exercise group. Total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin increased, whereas estradiol and prolactin decreased in the exercise group; follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone remained unchanged. Semen volume, sperm concentration, total motility, progressive motility, total sperm count, total motile sperm count, and progressive motile sperm count improved in the exercise group compared with the control group (e.g., between-group difference in change in progressive motility: 4.55 percentage points, 95% CI 3.66 to 5.44; total motile sperm count: 5.60 million, 95% CI 2.18 to 9.02). No significant interactions were observed for non-progressive motility or Kruger strict morphology. After Holm–Bonferroni adjustment, the interactions for semen volume, total sperm count, and estradiol were no longer statistically significant. Conclusions: A 12-week combined exercise program was associated with favorable metabolic, hormonal, and selected semen-quality changes in healthy adult men. Given the non-randomized design, small sample size, single semen sample at each time point, and absence of fertility endpoints, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis-generating rather than evidence of clinical reproductive benefit.
SN - 2077-0383
ER -