Bengaluru: Historically, male infertility is supposed to be lesser than female infertility. But over the years, fertility experts have noticed that the ratio of male infertility to female infertility is reversing drastically. Experts said that there are many reasons for the change in trend, including the sedentary lifestyle and environmental degradation.
“Over the years, we have observed that the male fertility problems which were way less compared to female fertility issues are becoming equal with the female fertility issues. Now, the current ratio of infertility is exactly the opposite, indicating structural alterations happening inside the testes," said Dr Vasan S.S., Medical Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Manipal Ankur Andrology and Reproductive Services.
Earlier, the ratio of male fertility problems, female fertility problems and combined was 30:50:20 and it has now reversed to 50:30:20. “The problem is that production is not getting affected, but the quality of production is getting affected, leading to unhealthy babies and even abortions. The number of defective sperms is increasing,” Dr Vassan said.
“Let’s say of the 100 infertile couples seeking fertility treatment, around 30 have problems in the male partner, another 30 are in the female partner, while the rest have issues with both partners,” said Dr Mallikarjuna Kirthi, Infertility Specialist-Nova IVI Fertility who further blames urbanisation for the reversing trend. “The current lifestyle is making men develop diabetes and hypertension, which lead to infertility. The medicines prescribed to control blood pressure can cause erectile dysfunction, leading to infertility. Psychological stress can also reduce the frequency of intercourse and also contribute to erectile dysfunction,” says Dr Mallikarjuna.
Experts said that problems may be related to inadequate sperm count or abnormalities, like the size, shape and movement of sperms. Around 30% to 50% of male infertility relates to the presence of a varicocele, or varicose veins within the scrotum which affect the quality and quantity of sperms. Dr Vasan said that the common problems men face are low sperm count, morphology abnormalities and low motility of sperm. "Sperm production can be a problem, leading to decrease in the count or motility. Very rarely, the shape of sperm can also be the reason," said Dr Mallikarjuna.
