Lebenslaufmorbidität und Reproduktionsbiografie einer Kohorte von Patienten der Andrologischen Kinderwunschsprechstunde des Universitätsklinikums Marburg

Introduction: Male infertility is a frequent problem with a complex aetiology. In many industrialized countries about 15% of all couples trying to become pregnant are infertile giving a waiting time of 12 month. Thus, there are a lot of studies which investigate risk factors causing infertility. Nevertheless, there are only a few studies which investigate the outcomes of male infertility on morbidity and/or mortality. In one of the first studies ever on the subject we have reported a higher lifetime mortality rate for subfertile and sterile men without co-morbidity over all age groups in comparison to fertile men. Little is known from literature reviews and own research about eventual biological mechanisms behind these mortality differentials. Material/Methods: Here we go on reporting on a survey of surviving subjects and proxies on life time morbidity and reproductive biography details which may give additional information. Databases are general and semen parameters of 1375 patients attending the andrological service at Marburg University Hospital in 1949 and later and data from a core interview with survivors and a proxy interview with surviving family members of deceased cases. Results: It is expected that differences in lifespan between fertile and infertile men are not the result of a direct causation of infertility on life time mortality in the sense of a biological mechanism. Currently there is no evidence that impaired spermatogenesis might have any direct influence on the lifespan. Differences in mortality between the two groups, i.e. infertile and fertile men can be attributed to differences in morbidity between infertile and fertile men, which are in turn the result of reproductive and partnership history. Thus there should be no difference in morbidity and therefore in mortality between subfertile and fertile men under the same reproductive conditions.

Literatur:

Groos S., Krause W, Mueller U (2006). Men with subnormal sperm counts live shorter lives. In: Biodemography and Social Biology 53, S. 46–60