Does man's age influence in fertility treatments? | Reproclinic
Does man's age influence in fertility?

Does man’s age influence in fertility treatments?

 
By Reproclinic Editorial Committee
 

The importance of the age in which one has children is already known among women, but very little is said about this issue among men. The truth is that they also have a biological clock and there is a certain decline in their fertility over the years. But how does man’s age affect natural pregnancy and assisted reproduction treatments?

 

Man’s age and natural fertility

 

It is estimated that if the man is 25 years old or younger, the probability of conceiving (on average) is 4 months. On the other hand, if he is over 40 years old, it may take 2 years or more. And if the man is 45 years old, the average time needed to conceive is multiplied by five. These data apply exclusively to the natural pregnancy rate.

Men never stop producing sperm, unless some disease or specific damage occurs. However, the quality of their semen can get affected as they get older. The passage of time can produce changes in the seminogram and oxidation in the sperm, thus reducing its capacity for fertilization.

A man’s age doesn’t directly affect his fertility, as in the case of women. However, it can affect the quality of sperm, which can lead to some negative impacts:

  • Increase the time needed to conceive
  • Decreases sperm quality (concentration, mobility)
  • Increases the chance of finding anomalies in sperm DNA
  • Increase the risk of miscarriages and birth defects in babies

 

Thus, the older the man, the longer he can take to conceive naturally. This may also be due to the fact that older men often develop chronic diseases such as diabetes, overweight and high blood pressure, which can affect fertility.

On the other hand, as men get older, they may experience other complications linked to reproduction, such as a decrease in libido and/or erectile dysfunction, which can hinder natural pregnancy.

Recent studies have also determined that man’s age is associated with a higher rate of chromosomal alterations in sperm. This can lead to infertility problems, miscarriages and the transmission of congenital diseases in the offspring.

 

How does man’s age affect assisted reproduction treatments?

 

Although men do not experience menopause like women and do not lose their ability to produce offspring, it’s a fact that male fertility does decrease with age. But, thanks to the different techniques of assisted reproduction, it is now possible to solve most problems linked to male sterility.

Through techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, known as ICSI, cases of male infertility have been markedly reduced. Even in cases of very reduced mobility and with morphological anomalies. With this technique, it is possible to achieve pregnancy in most cases of sterility linked to men.

Man’s age is not as relevant a factor in In Vitro Fertilization treatments as it is in women, which is usually the main cause of failure. These are the results of a recent study published in the journal Reproductive Biology in December 2018. This states that the age of men does not affect the rate of pregnancy or birth of live newborn. However, it has been detected a significant deterioration in sperm analysis.

On the other hand, the age of men can also affect the quality of embryos that are generated in fertility treatments, but its effect on pregnancy rates is very low, compared to the influence of the woman’s age during the pregnancy.

 

Becoming a father after 40

 

It is increasingly common for men over 45 to want to become parents for different reasons:

  • Because they have prioritized their professional or personal goals and have delayed paternity
  • For the formation of second couples
  • Because they had not found the right person.

However, although men can have children throughout their lives, at an older age their sperm quality decreases. In fertility clinics such as Reproclinic, according to the age of the father and the mother, it is usually recommended to perform an in vitro fertilization with PGD or PGS.

A biopsy is performed on the embryos before implantation, to perform a genetic study. This study tells us if the cells have a normal chromosome number (which allows the embryo to be transferred) or if they contain an abnormal number (not suitable for transfer). In this way, we maximize the possibility of having a child free of genetic diseases.

In conclusion, although man’s age doesn’t have great relevance in fertility treatments (compared to the influence of the age of the woman), it does have an impact on the ability to conceive naturally.

 

Published by Dr Maria Arqué

Medical Director at Reproclinic
Specialist in Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine

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Privacy policy

Before providing the information on this form, and pursuant to RGPD 2016/679, you must read and agree with these conditions on the protection of personal data, accepting and consenting to the processing of your data by Reproclinic sl (Reproclinic) using the methods and for the purposes indicated in this text, in the Data Protection Statement, Privacy Policy, and in the Legal Notice.

 

About your data

We inform you that your data will be included in a file managed by Reproclinic sl (Reproclinic) in order to reply to your request and send you the information you requested, as well as to send you commercial communications electronically on services that may be of interest to you..

By filling out this application form, you grant your unequivocal consent to Reproclinic sl (Reproclinic), which shall provide us with the legal basis for processing your personal information for the purposes listed in the previous paragraph.

Your information may be transferred to Prolonga Fertilidad sl (Fertty) or to companies with which it has business ties.

You may exercise your rights to Access, Rectify, Delete, Oppose the processing of, Erase, Limit and Portability of your data by writing to Reproclinic C / Ausiàs Marc 25, 08010 Barcelona (lopd@reproclinic.com).

Unless you inform us otherwise, we will assume that your details have not been modified, that you agree to notify us of any change thereto, and that we have your consent to process said details for the aforementioned purposes.