17 May Infertility in Men Linked to Mortality
MedicalResearch. com Interview with:Michael Eisenberg, MD, PhD
Director, Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery
Assistant Professor, Department of Urology
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Stanford School of Medicine
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Eisenberg: There is an inverse relationship between semen quality and mortality so that as semen quality declines the likliehood of death increases.
MedicalResearch: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Dr. Eisenberg: There has been some signal in the literature that such a relationship exists but the magnitude was somewhat surprising. The increased risk was comparable to that for smoking or diabetes for this aged population.
MedicalResearch: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Eisenberg: Reproductive aged men should be made aware of their health and perhaps use a fertility evaluation to make sure that normal health screening and maintenance is followed. The men in this study were young so there may be an opportunity to positively impact their health if we intervene early.
MedicalResearch: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Eisenberg: We are currently attempting to understand why this relationship exists.
Citation:
Semen quality, infertility and mortality in the USA
Human Reproduction
Last Updated on May 17, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD