BACKGROUND: An association between either subfertility or infertility and an elevated risk of certain male cancers has been previously reported. Nothing is known about abnormalities in infertility and general health conditions. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether men with male factor infertility (MFI) are overall less healthy than fertile men, regardless of the reasons for infertility. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: From September 2006 to September 2007, 344 consecutive European Caucasian men with MFI were enrolled in this prospective case-controlled study. Patients were compared with a control group of 293 consecutive age-comparable fertile men. Infertile men were consecutively attending the outpatient male reproductive clinic at a tertiary academic center. Fertile controls were consecutively recruited by use of advertisements posted within our hospital. MEASUREMENTS: Comorbidities of patients and fertile men were objectively scored with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) according to the International Classification of Diseases modified ninth version (ICD-9-CM) codes. Multivariate linear regression models tested the association between predictors and CCI score, as a proxy of general health status. RESULTS: According to the CCI scores, infertile men had a significantly higher rate of comorbidities compared with the fertile controls (CCI: 0.33 [0.8] vs 0.14 [0.5]; p<0.001; 95% CI: 0.08-0.29). Linear regression analyses showed that although educational status did not have an impact on CCI (β: 0.035; p=0.365), while CCI linearly increased with age (β: 0.196; p<0.001) and body mass index (BMI; β: 0.161; p<0.001). After adjusting for age, BMI, and educational status, a significantly lower CCI was calculated for fertile men and compared with MFI patients (β: -0.199; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results show that MFI accounts for a higher CCI, which may be considered a reliable proxy of a lower general health status.
BACKGROUND: An association between either subfertility or infertility and an elevated risk of certain male cancers has been previously reported. Nothing is known about abnormalities in infertility and general health conditions. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether men with male factor infertility (MFI) are overall less healthy than fertile men, regardless of the reasons for infertility. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: From September 2006 to September 2007, 344 consecutive European Caucasian men with MFI were enrolled in this prospective case-controlled study. Patients were compared with a control group of 293 consecutive age-comparable fertile men. Infertile men were consecutively attending the outpatient male reproductive clinic at a tertiary academic center. Fertile controls were consecutively recruited by use of advertisements posted within our hospital. MEASUREMENTS: Comorbidities of patients and fertile men were objectively scored with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) according to the International Classification of Diseases modified ninth version (ICD-9-CM) codes. Multivariate linear regression models tested the association between predictors and CCI score, as a proxy of general health status. RESULTS: According to the CCI scores, infertile men had a significantly higher rate of comorbidities compared with the fertile controls (CCI: 0.33 [0.8] vs 0.14 [0.5]; p<0.001; 95% CI: 0.08-0.29). Linear regression analyses showed that although educational status did not have an impact on CCI (β: 0.035; p=0.365), while CCI linearly increased with age (β: 0.196; p<0.001) and body mass index (BMI; β: 0.161; p<0.001). After adjusting for age, BMI, and educational status, a significantly lower CCI was calculated for fertile men and compared with MFI patients (β: -0.199; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results show that MFI accounts for a higher CCI, which may be considered a reliable proxy of a lower general health status.
Authors: Michael L Eisenberg; Yikyung Park; Albert R Hollenbeck; Larry I Lipshultz; Arthur Schatzkin; Mark J Pletcher Journal: Hum Reprod Date: 2011-09-26 Impact factor: 6.918
Authors: Ross E Anderson; Heidi A Hanson; William T Lowrance; Jeffrey Redshaw; Siam Oottamasathien; Anthony Schaeffer; Erica Johnstone; Kenneth I Aston; Douglas T Carrell; Patrick Cartwright; Ken R Smith; James M Hotaling Journal: J Urol Date: 2017-01-26 Impact factor: 7.450
Authors: Ross E Anderson; Heidi A Hanson; Darshan P Patel; Erica Johnstone; Kenneth I Aston; Douglas T Carrell; William T Lowrance; Ken R Smith; James M Hotaling Journal: Fertil Steril Date: 2016-06-20 Impact factor: 7.329