Latest figures revealed at the 21st annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology at Copenhagen have shown that more men than women are being affected by infertility, due to factors like lowered sperm count, and sluggish movement of sperms.
According to Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) estimates, 81 per cent of the times a couple has trouble with pregnancy, it is due to infertility problems in either the man or the woman. So far, 40 per cent of the times, the problem lay with the man, and 40 per cent with the woman. Around 20 per cent of the times, the problem was shared by both partners. But it has been seen that the man’s contribution to a couple’s infertility is slowing inching up.
“Male infertility seems to be increasing. Perhaps the data on declining sperm quality is true and maybe environmental factors are playing an increasing role as the planet becomes more polluted,” said Dr Anders Nyboe Andersen, who heads Copenhagen University Hospital’s fertility clinic. “We see less and less infertility caused by severe tubal problems in women, probably because of better sexual protection due to the risk of AIDS during the last 15 years,” he added.
The problem is aggravated by the fact that most men avoid seeking medical help because they refuse to acknowledge that the problem might lie with them. “When I talk to people about infertility, they tend to automatically assume that it is a woman’s problem and are genuinely surprised to find out that it’s pretty much 50-50. I think it is down to the fact that men still don’t like to talk about the fact that they may have a problem – they see it as an attack on their virility,” said Clare Brown, chief executive, the Infertility Network, adding, “Couples don’t like to talk about their fertility problems in general, but it happens even more with men, and that contributes to the myth that it is a woman’s problem, when in fact it could be either one or both of them.”
Dr Andersen suggested that the drop in fertility might be because of high amount of chemicals used in everyday use items and in foods. Another reason why couples might be having trouble with parenthood is because more people are choosing to have children late in life. While the effects of late motherhood have repeatedly been talked about, the effect of age on men has been talked about much less.
“The effect of age on male infertility is particularly interesting because of the growth in the number of men choosing to father children at older ages. The combination of increased female factor infertility, increased sperm DNA damage, low levels of DNA repair and increased abnormalities in conventional semen parameters will have a pronounced impact on their reproductive potential,” said Dr Sergey Moskotsev of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
Dr Allan Pacey of the University of Sheffield said, “This should remind us that the male reproductive system is not immune from the effects of ageing. While the effects of aging are not as dramatic as are seen in women, subtle changes in DNA quality could seriously affect a couple’s ability to conceive, or could lead to miscarriage or even health problems in any children born.”
