More men suffer from infertility than women, say docs

Visakhapatnam: Nearly 1.5% more men suffer from infertility than women, according to doctors who were participating in a gynaecology conference in the city on Sunday. The doctors further informed that the mean age for infertility has come down from over 35 to over 30 years. Around 300 gynaecologists from all across the country participated in this conference aimed at discussing issues related to fertility and recent advances in infertility treatment.

The conference was organised by Oasis Fertility Centre for Reproductive Medicine. Dr Radhika Potluri, clinical head and fertility specialist at the centre said, “The main reasons of male infertility are pollution, stress, obesity, irregular sleep patterns and smoking. All of these affect sperm count. Moreover, in rural areas, exposure to pesticides is also adding to the problem.”

Another doctor, Dr Krishna Chaitanya, a clinical embryologist said that the general notion in India is that infertility clinics are meant only for women. “Male infertility is completely ignored. But nearly 50% infertility among couples is related to reproductive anomalies or disorders in the male. Hence, it is important that male infertility is evaluated properly.”

The doctors attending the conference also highlighted the need to preserve eggs and sperm in case of patients undergoing treatment for cancer, so that they can opt for parenthood later.

The doctors also spoke about pre-implantation genitive diagnosis testing (PGT) for next generation sequencing. This is a relatively new development in modern medicine, used to assess the genetic profile of the embryo before it is implanted, thereby increasing the chances of a healthy foetus, not affected by genetic disorders such as thalassemia or sickle-cell anaemia.