Male offspring of assisted reproduction less fertile

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study of young men undergoing compulsory physical examination for military service found that men whose mothers underwent fertility treatments to conceive appear to have impaired reproductive health.

Dr. Tina Kold Jensen and colleagues at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, studied 1,925 young Danish men who underwent a physical examination and volunteered to provide a semen sample, a blood sample and to complete a questionnaire.

When the mothers were asked if they had received fertility treatments to conceive their son, 47 women said they had.

After controlling for various potentially confounding factors, the researchers found that compared with the other men, those conceived with fertility treatment had a 46 percent lower sperm concentration, a 45 percent lower total sperm count, smaller testes, fewer motile sperm and fewer normal appearing sperm.

These men also had lower testosterone levels, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Jensen told Reuters Health that although it is not clear what mechanisms are involved, "the significantly reduced sperm counts, fewer motile sperm and other findings are of concern, particularly in light of current low fertility rates and increasing use of fertility treatments."

"Larger-scale follow-up studies," she concluded, "should help provide more information on the possible causes and late effects of assisted reproductive techniques."

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology March 2007.