In conversation with Mrs Arifa Muzaffar and Dr Anthony Leeds, Dr Channa Jayasenna and Dr Aditi Sharma of Imperial College London discuss the global problem of increasing infertility among men.
Dr Sharma and Dr Jayasenna describe factors that cause male infertility and consider how these can be addressed. They explain how fertility clinics now emphasise very fully the full range of causes in both men and women and note that globally provision of fertility services is not meeting demand. In many countries women are tending to start families at a later age when fertility is not as good as at a younger age and the proportion of infertile couples is increasing. The alarming global obesity pandemic may also be contributing to deteriorating fertility in men and to increasing prevalence of complications in pregnancy among women.
Dr Anthony Leeds, said ‘Many obesity and body weight-related problems, such as diabetes, osteoarthritis and heart disease, are recognised as such and the importance of weight loss has been shown by good clinical trials. This is not the case in relation to infertility in men. However, in routine practice clinicians know of cases where successful weight loss in the man has helped an infertile couple to start a family. Good quality clinical trial evidence that weight loss in the male partner should be a standard component of fertility programmes is still awaited. My colleagues in the fertility services at Imperial College London are pioneers in research on this topic and here they discuss some of the issues.’
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Information resources infertility
Heath Canada – infertility
UK- NHS infertility
Imperial College London Male Infertility and Weight loss Study
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/metabolism-digestion-reproduction/research/diabetes-endocrinology-metabolism/endocrinology-and-investigative-medicine/nihr-weight-loss/
