Infertility may be a marker of the risk of premature death
According to the results of a study conducted by Dr. Michael Eisenberg from Stanford University and his colleagues, men with infertility due to sperm abnormalities are at risk for premature mortality.
Infertility in developed countries is a very common problem faced by about one in seven couples. So far, only two studies have been conducted (in Germany and Denmark) examining the potential relationship between male infertility and mortality. The results of these works, published several decades ago, contradict each other.
As part of the new study, researchers analyzed data on almost 12,000 men aged 20 to 50 years (average age 36.6 years) who applied to one of two medical centers for problems with conceiving a child. The authors had at their disposal a number of parameters of the quality of patients' sperm, such as the total volume of ejaculate, as well as the number, mobility and shape of spermatozoa.
Comparison of these indicators with data from the US national registers allowed researchers to monitor the mortality of men from the selected cohort for an average of 8 years. The results demonstrated the existence of an inverse relationship between sperm quality and the risk of death during this period. While none of the sperm abnormalities in itself was a prognostic factor of imminent death, the presence of two or more anomalies increased its probability by more than two times.
In total, out of 11,935 men whose information was analyzed, only 69 people died during the observation period. First of all, this reflects the relatively young age of patients, but in general, this indicator is higher than the population average for the United States. This is due to the fact that the socio-economic status of men who apply to specialized clinics for the diagnosis of infertility, as a rule, is above average, respectively, they have better education, use better products and have access to quality medical services. Moreover, these men want to have children, which with a high degree of probability indicates their relatively good physical and mental condition.
Experts believe that infertility can be a manifestation of any implicit health problems, which are actually the cause of premature death. The authors did their best to adjust the results taking into account concomitant diseases, but this only slightly weakened the revealed relationship. It is quite possible that it is also based on factors of a different nature, for example, genetic, hormonal or developmental factors.
Researchers have already started working on finding out these hidden causes in collaboration with a number of infertility-specialized medical centers in the United States and Canada.
Article by Michael L. Eisenberg et al. Semen quality, infertility and mortality in the USA is published in the journal Human Reproduction.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on Medical Xpres: Male infertility linked to mortality.
19.005.2014