Long-term effect of vasectomy on coronary heart disease.

Abstract

We investigated the association between coronary heart disease (CHD) and vasectomy in a population of 10,632 men who were under surveillance for multiple CHD risk factors during participation in a university-based exercise testing program. We conducted a mail survey with telephone follow-up to determine the vasectomy status of individuals in the population. Responses were obtained from 6,159 individuals. The 4,944 males on whom information was complete enough to be included in the multivariate analysis comprised the study population. Among the 1,383 (28 per cent) vasectomized males in the study population, the interval from vasectomy to the time of the survey ranged from less than one year to 37 years with a mean duration of 15 years. Although increased

Pre- and postvasectomy counseling: strategies to improve patient knowledge

“…25 Some men are concerned about long-term health effects that may result from vasectomy due to the formation of anti-sperm antibodies and related immune complexes that were suspected to increase the risk of arterial plaques or tissue damage. 26 However, concerns about the risk of cardiovascular disease (eg, hypertension, angina, myocardial infarction, stroke), autoimmune disorders, and various andrologic cancers (eg, testicular, prostate) have all been dispelled by more recent, well-designed, large-scale studies even taking into account time since vasectomy. Though the American Urological Association (AUA) has stated that these concerns need not be routinely discussed in pre-vasectomy counseling given that vasectomy has not been found to be a risk factor, 27 some men may still require reassurance.…”

Freiwillige Vasektomie in der Familienplanung - Gedanken zur Nutzen-Risiko-Analyse

“…Die National Institutes of Health und die WHO haben große epidemiologische Studien in den USA bzw. in China veranlaßt, um nach Assoziationen zwischen Vasektomie und kardiovaskulären Erkrankungen (Gefäßrisikofaktor) zu fahnden (20). Zahlreiche weitere Studien (zitiert in 19) haben diese Untersuchungen erweitert, so daß die Vasektomie heute neben dem Rauchen der epidemiologisch am besten untersuchte Gefäßrisikofaktor ist.…”

Vasectomy: Morphological and immunological effects

“…T h e future of vasectomy seems assured, however, by several papers indicating no increase in autoimmune diseases (Mathews et al,1976;Bullock et al, 1977), blood coagulation disorders (Kisker et al, 1979), or ischemic heart disease (Goldacre et al, 1983;Petitti et al, 1983;Walker et al, 1983;Perrin et al, 1984;Rosenberg et al, 1986). Further work is required, however, to investigate suggestions that the peripheral rather than the coronary arteries might be affected (Campbell et al, 1983) and that vasectomy exacerbates arterial disease in diabetic monkeys (Bansal et al, 1986).…”