{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T12:10:34Z","timestamp":1792757434508,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,20]],"date-time":"2024-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724112000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, and previous observational epidemiological studies have suggested an association between MS and male infertility; male infertility due to sperm abnormalities may result from a number of aetiological factors, such as genetics, autoimmune factors, etc., and there are currently no studies to assess whether MS is associated with sperm abnormalities in men. Therefore, we performed a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess the causal relationship between MS and abnormal spermatozoa.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In this study, independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) were identified by mining public genome-wide association study repositories and used as instrumental variables to explore causality. The causal effect of MS on sperm abnormalities was systematically assessed using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) techniques, and various analytical models such as inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR-Egger and MR-PRESSO were implemented to dissect the association. In addition, a wide range of sensitivity tests, including Cochran\u2019s Q test to detect heterogeneity, MR-Egger intercept analysis to assess bias, leave-one-out to test model robustness, and funnel plot analysis to detect potential publication bias, were implemented to ensure the robustness and reliability of the causal inference results.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>There was a significant causal relationship between MS and abnormal sperm (OR 1.090, 95% CI [1.017\u20131.168], p = 0.014); The accuracy and robustness of the results were confirmed by sensitivity analysis.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Here we show that there appears to be a causal relationship between multiple sclerosis and abnormal spermatozoa. MS as a chronic disease has a higher risk of concomitant sperm abnormalities in its male patients, and reproductive and fertility issues in men with MS should receive special attention from clinicians.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0308815","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,20]],"date-time":"2024-08-20T17:28:53Z","timestamp":1724174933000},"page":"e0308815","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Multiple sclerosis and abnormal spermatozoa: A bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization 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