Zinc doesn’t boost men’s fertility, study finds

A rigorous U.S. government-led study found that zinc and folic acid supplements don’t boost men’s fertility, despite promotional claims that they do.

The mineral and the vitamin are important for sperm production and are found in many common foods. Previous studies on whether over-the-counter supplements might boost sperm health have had conflicting results.

“There were a few small trials that showed a benefit, but we needed some definitive evidence that this would work,” said lead author Enrique Schisterman, a researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed it didn’t.

Schisterman called the results disappointing. Supplements cost about $60 a month compared with tens of thousands of dollars many couples spend on invasive medical treatment for infertility.

“People who go through fertility treatment are really, really desperate to find something that works,” he said.

The institute paid for the study, which involved almost 2,400 men planning fertility treatments with their partners at four U.S. clinics.

Half the men studied swallowed one tablet daily for six months; the other men took dummy pills. Several semen tests were performed during the study.

Over 18 months of followup, 820 babies were born, about equal numbers in each group. Sperm quality also was similar in both groups.