Publication:

Epidemiologic aspects of male infertility

Background Infertility affects 10-15% of couples worldwide with rates steadily increasing in the Industrialized world, in part due to the deterioration of male reproductive health.

Methods This study was performed in an attempt to clarify the associated factors that might play a role in group of Indian infertile men. This study was a cross – sectional descriptive study conducted in Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences. The information was obtained from the men who had attended the clinic from January 2016-January 2017. The factors that were studied in this research are the demographic characteristics, alcohol consumption, smoking, exposure to heavy metals, obesity, stress and history of surgery.

Results In 31.6% of couples, the cause of infertility was pure male factor and in 20.4% of them the problem was related to male and female factor both. The most important associated factors for male factor included history of varicocele operation (24%), alcohol consumption (18%) and cigarette smoking (16%).

Conclusions Male factors play a significant role in up to 50 percent of infertility cases, stressing the need for a logical, stepwise approach to the evaluation of the male partner.