The Study
Effect of Folic Acid and Zinc Supplementation in Men on Semen Quality and Live Birth Among Couples Undergoing Infertility Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
This study is like a fair test where half the men took a vitamin pill and half took a sugar pill, and then scientists checked if the vitamin pill helped couples have babies. Because they randomly assigned who got what, they can say for sure whether the vitamins caused any change — and they found they didn't help babies happen more often.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Some supplements claim to help men with fertility, but this big study tested if daily zinc and folic acid pills actually work.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 590 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though zinc and folic acid are important for sperm, this specific dose and duration didn't help fertility — and may have hurt sperm DNA and caused side effects.
- 2The pills didn't help couples have more babies (34% vs 35% live birth).
- 3Sperm count, movement, and shape didn't improve.
- 4But sperm DNA damage went up by 2.4%, and men had more stomach problems and nausea.
- 5Babies were also more likely to be born early.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JAMA
Year
2020
Authors
E. Schisterman, L. Sjaarda, T. Clemons, D. Carrell, N. Perkins, E. Johnstone, D. Lamb, K. Chaney, B. Van Voorhis, G. Ryan, K. Summers, J. Hotaling, J. Robins, James L. Mills, P. Mendola, Zhen Chen, E. DeVilbiss, C. Peterson, S. Mumford
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking 5 mg of folic acid and 30 mg of zinc daily for six months does not change live birth rates or any measured sperm parameters in men undergoing infertility treatment compared to taking a placebo.
Taking 5 mg of folic acid and 30 mg of zinc daily for six months increases sperm DNA fragmentation by 2.4 percentage points in men being treated for infertility, compared to those taking a placebo.
Couples receiving folic acid and zinc supplements during infertility treatment have a higher rate of preterm birth compared to those who do not, with 6% of supplemented couples experiencing preterm birth versus 4% of unsupplemented couples.
Men taking daily supplements of 5 mg folic acid and 30 mg zinc during infertility treatment experience more abdominal discomfort, nausea, and vomiting than men taking a placebo.
Zinc is involved in the processes that determine semen quality, sperm development, and testosterone levels in humans.
Taking folic acid and zinc supplements does not change the fertilization rate, embryo appearance, or number of high-quality embryos in couples undergoing in vitro fertilization compared to taking a placebo.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.