ORLANDO, FL USA (UroToday.com) - It is hypothesized that changes in the reproductive ability of men may have an association with different pathologies. Therefore, Dr. Michael Eisenberg and colleagues presented that if a patient has low semen production, they may have worse health outcomes than their counterparts. Their goal, as presented, was to evaluate for association between low semen production and mortality rates.
The authors used a retrospective study and evaluated 11 935 men who were assessed for infertility. The authors calculated mortality for these patients and discussed the mortality comparison with men in the general population.
They found that men who were evaluated for infertility did not have a high risk of death as expected. However, interestingly, men who had abnormal infertility tests such as low semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility, total sperm count, and total motile sperm count had higher mortality rates.
The authors concluded that mortality rate has an association with abnormal infertility test results, specifically sperm function aberration. Therefore, the consensus at the presentation was that men with abnormal infertility tests should undergo follow up. Future studies will be helpful to assess the mechanisms involved in these associations.
Presented by Michael Eisenberg, MD at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 16 - 21, 2014 - Orlando, Florida USA
Palo Alto, CA USA
Written by Garen Abedi, MD, University of California (Irvine), and medical writer for UroToday.com
