Type 2 risk for infertile men

A low sperm count could mean a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study has found.

Men with infertility problems could also be at risk of osteoporosis researchers in Sweden said.

Nearly 400 men participated in the study, which was carried out at a reproductive medicine centre in the Swedish city of Malmo.

Just under half of the men had a low sperm count and their data was compared with an age-matched control group of 199 men.

The findings, which were unveiled at the European Association of Urology conference in Munich, showed a combination of infertility and low levels of sex hormones indicated links to metabolic diseases.

‘Significant proportion’

The rate of low testosterone levels was 10 times higher among the men with fertility problems than among the men in the control group.

Senior author of the study Dr Aleksanser Giwercman from Skane University Hospital and Lund University in Sweden said: “We found that a significant proportion of men from infertile couples show biochemical signs of hypogonadism.

“This may be affecting their fertility, but they can also serve as early warning signs for metabolic diseases in later life, such as osteoporosis or diabetes.

“We would recommend that levels of reproductive hormones should be checked in all men seeking advice for fertility problems.

“Those at risk of serious disease should be followed after the completion of fertility treatment.”

Researchers concluded that infertile men have 10-fold increased odds that they will have hypogonadism which is associated with elevated blood glucose levels and lower BMD.