Defining Male Infertility and its Staggering Statistics

Infertility is generally defined as the inability for a couple to conceive after one year of unprotected, frequent sexual intercourse. Male infertility is the inability of a male to make a fertile female pregnant, also for a minimum of one year of unprotected intercourse. Male infertility can be reversible or irreversible. Other factors which may affect a couples fertility include: age, medications, surgical history, exposure to environmental toxins, genetic problems and systemic diseases.

Globally, infertility affects approximately approximately 15% of all couples or 180M couples worldwide. One in five couples are unable to achieve pregnancy in the first year; however, approximately 50% of young, healthy couples in the US who do not conceive in the first year, will successfully conceive during the subsequent twelve months. Male infertility accounts for approximately 20% of infertile couples, and is a contributing factor in another 30-40% of cases. Overall, the male factor can contribute to approximately 50% of infertility cases, whether it is the sole factor or in combination with female factors.

Interestingly, the average sperm count has been decreasing over recent decades. In 1940, the average sperm count was 113 million/mL, this figure dropped to 66 million/mL in the 1990s. Between 1973 and 2018, this trend continued, with average sperm counts declining by 51.6%. Finally, the rate of decline increased after 2000, from a decline of 1.16% a year post-1972 to 2.64% annually post-2000.

Source: StatPearls.com