This pathology is related to male infertility, erectile dysfunction and insufficient production of testosterone.
Several inflammatory proteins involved in the immune response associated with inflammatory arthritis play an important role in the regulation of sperm production. Photo: Shutterstock.com.
rheumatoid arthritis or one of the other types Arthritis Inflammatory, diagnosed before or during years of maximum reproductive activity, may impair fertility for menAccording to research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Arthritis According to the results of this study, inflammatory disease is associated with fewer children, higher rates of infertility, involuntary childlessness and fertility problems such as poor sperm quality.
This pathology, which includes rheumatoid arthritisThe Arthritis psoriasis, Arthritis Juvenile idiopathic and ankylosing spondylitis is associated with male infertility, erectile dysfunction and insufficient production of testosterone and/or sperm (hypogonadism). but the effect Arthritis inflammatory in the ability for men Children remain largely unknown to the father.
To explore this question, researchers led by rheumatologist Luis Fernando Perez-García of Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands compared fertility rates, or the number of children per capita. for men diagnosed with Arthritis Inflammatory depending on your age at diagnosis; 30 years or less; Between 31 and 40 years (considered the maximum reproductive age); and 41 years or more.
Participants were drawn from 8 different hospitals in the Netherlands between September 2019 and January 2021. Some 628, who were over 40 and had a complete family size, filled out a questionnaire about medical and fertility problems they had before and after being diagnosed. Arthritis Inflammatory.
The researchers also compared the proportion of the total number of pregnancies associated with each male, the desired family size, for men Results of medical evaluations for those without children and for fertility problems.
After adjusting for potentially influencing factors, such as current age, educational level, history of heart disease, and partner infertility, for men with any diagnosis Arthritis There were significantly fewer children with inflammatory disease before the age of 30. for men of the other two age groups.
These for men They had an average of 1.32 children, compared with 1.56 children diagnosed between the ages of 31 and 40, and 1.88 of those diagnosed when they were 41 or older.
loss for men They also had fewer pregnancies (1.45) than those diagnosed between 31 and 40 years of age (1.73) or older (1.98) when they were diagnosed before or before the age of 30. In the Netherlands, between 1 in 5 and 1 in 4 for men They don’t have children. Among participants, 143 (just 22%) were childless, of whom nearly two-thirds (99; 69%) were voluntarily childless.
Once again, the percentage of for men Among children diagnosed at or before age 30 (45; 34%), compared with those diagnosed between 31 and 40 years (39; 27%) and 40 years of age (59; 17%) The number of children without it was much higher. ,
In addition, the ratio of for men Involuntary childlessness was significantly different between the 3 groups: respectively, 16 (12%); 15 (10%); and 13 (4%). Voluntary childlessness was also different: 29 (25%); 24 (18%); and 46 (15%).
But among those who did not voluntarily have children, the statement ‘my illness reduced my desire to have children’ was rated highly for men Diagnosed at a younger age than either of the other two age groups.
In addition, a large number of for men Diagnosed before the age of 30 (17%) or between the ages of 31 and 40 (10%) and declared themselves dissatisfied with their final number of children for men diagnosed when they were older (5.5%). about a third of these for men They indicated that the main reason for having fewer children was their diagnosis and/or associated medical treatment.
Compared to the older age group, significantly more of those diagnosed before or during the peak reproductive years were reported to be medically evaluated for fertility problems that resulted in poor sperm quality.
Although the number of children wanted was small for men Diagnosed earlier and during their peak reproductive years, overall there was no significant difference between the 3 groups and was similar to the per capita reported figure for the general population of the Netherlands.
But, the researchers stressed, “the difference between the desired number of children and the final number was much greater”. for men Diagnosed before and during the reproductive years, indicating that low fertility rates are primarily influenced by low fertility, and not by low desire to be a parent.”
This is an observational study and thus cannot establish causation, although there are some plausible biological explanations for the associations, the researchers point out.
Several inflammatory proteins are involved in the linked immune response Arthritis Inflammation, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), play an important role in regulating the stability of testis and sperm production.
drugs used to treat Arthritis They may also have a role, they suggest. Side effects such as hypogonadism and poor sperm quality have been associated with commonly used immunosuppressive agents.
and it is calculated that for men Without babies who come to infertility clinics involuntarily, 1 in 4 takes drugs that can affect sexual function, while 1 in 10 takes drugs associated with impaired fertility.
Similarly, various psychosocial factors associated with their diagnosis may also have contributed to the low fertility rate, suggest the researchers.
“due to problems or concerns associated with diagnosis and treatment, and based on medical advice (or lack thereof), for men Thief Arthritis Inflammatory disease and his partners voluntarily decided to remain childless or delay their plans to become parents, he explains. These were of particular importance for the psychosocial factor for men Diagnosed before peak reproductive age.
Source consulted here.
