Is male factor infertility associated with midlife low-grade inflammation? A population based study

Abstract

Male factor infertility is associated with an increased risk of disease and mortality, which has been related to markers of chronic systemic inflammation. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between male factor infertility and low-grade inflammation and furthermore to examine the lifetime prevalence of male factor infertility and overall infertility (also including female and couple infertility). The study population consisted of 2140 members of the Metropolit 1953 Danish Male Birth Cohort who had participated in the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank data collection in 2009–2011. Information on male factor infertility and overall infertility was obtained from a questionnaire, and low-grade inflammation was evaluated as the highest plasma levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha in the population. The level of interleukin-6 was significantly higher among men with male factor infertility compared with other men adjusted for potential confounders. This was not found for the two other inflammatory markers. The lifetime prevalence of male factor infertility and overall infertility were 10.2% and 17.9%, respectively. The findings suggest that male factor infertility might be associated with an increased level of interleukin-6.

Keywords:

• Male factor infertility
• low-grade inflammation
• IL-6
• TNF-α
• CRP
• population-based study

Acknowledgements

The Metropolit study has been funded by the Danish Heart Association, the Lundbeck Foundation, the Danish Pharmaceutical Fund, Else and Mogens Wedell-Wedellsborgs Fund, and the Danish Health Insurance Funds. The Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank has been supported by a generous grant from the Velux Foundation (VELUX26145 and 31539). The authors thank the staff at Department of Public Health and National Research Centre for the Working Environment, who undertook the data collection. Further thanks to Kirsten Avlund, Helle Bruunsgaard, Nils-Erik Fiehn, Åse Marie Hansen, Poul Holm-Pedersen, Rikke Lund, Erik Lykke Mortensen and Merete Osler, who initiated and established the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank from 2009 to 2011. The authors acknowledge the crucial role of the initiators and steering groups of The Metropolit Cohort, The Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort and The Danish Longitudinal Study on Work, Unemployment and Health.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

The Metropolit study has been funded by the Danish Heart Association, the Lundbeck Foundation, the Danish Pharmaceutical Fund, Else and Mogens Wedell-Wedellsborgs Fund, and the Danish Health Insurance Funds. The Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank has been supported by a generous grant from the Velux Foundation (VELUX26145 and 31539).