The effects of gender‐specific diagnosis on men's and women's response to infertility

SUMMARYInteractions between infertility and sexuality are numerous and complex. Infertile men may suffer from sexual dysfunction (SD) when undergoing an assisted reproductive technology programme. We undertook a review both in French and English of the available data on male SD when being diagnosed with a fertility problem with a specific focus on azoospermic men. The review was performed over a 30-year time period using PubMed/Medline. The sexual concerns and needs of infertile/sterile men for whom potential parenting can be compromised were evaluated. When diagnosed with infertility, men usually go through a crisis that can have a deleterious effect on their sexuality with sometimes a feeling of sexual inadequacy. Infertile men will feel stigmatized because they are perceived as being deficient in a specific component of their masculinity. Hence, subsequent SD may occur that can impact the couple sexuality and the infertility management. However, little is known on how the announcement of azoospermia may affect male on a sexual and psychological point of view. The present review suggests that a global management through a healthcare network (biologist, andrologist, sexologist and psychologist) is required which will allow to consider infertility and its subsequent sexual disorders as a whole and not as dichotomized issues.

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“…Men with infertility problems felt stigmatized and identified this as relating to their perceived loss of masculinity (Nachtigall et al, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male infertility: an obstacle to sexuality?

2016

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“…Nachtigall et al 36 investigated 36 volunteer couples undergoing infertility treatment in America using snowball sampling and in-depth interviews. The authors assessed whether emotional responses varied by sex-specific diagnoses.…”

Section: Psychological Reactions To Infertility Diagnosesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological and social aspects of infertility in men: an overview of the evidence and implications for psychologically informed clinical care and future research

Fisher¹,

Hammarberg²

2011

Asian J Androl

191

162

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Research concerning the psychosocial aspects of infertility and infertility treatment focuses more often on women than men. The aim of this review was to synthesize the English-language evidence related to the psychological and social aspects of infertility in men and discuss the implications of these reports for clinical care and future research. A structured search identified 73 studies that reported data concerning the desire for fatherhood and the psychological and social aspects of diagnosis, assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment and unsuccessful treatment among men with fertility difficulties. The studies are diverse in conceptualisation, design, setting and data collection, but the findings were reasonably consistent. These studies indicated that fertile and infertile childless men of reproductive age have desires to experience parenthood that are similar to those of their female counterparts; in addition, diagnosis and initiation of treatment are associated with elevated infertility-specific anxiety, and unsuccessful treatment can lead to a state of lasting sadness. However, rates of clinically significant mental health problems among this patient population are no higher than in the general population. Infertile men who are socially isolated, have an avoidant coping style and appraise stressful events as overwhelming, are more vulnerable to severe anxiety than men without these characteristics. Men prefer oral to written treatment information and prefer to receive emotional support from infertility clinicians rather than from mental health professionals, self-help support groups or friends. Nevertheless, structured, facilitated psycho-educational groups that are didactic but permit informal sharing of experiences might be beneficial. There are gaps in knowledge about factors governing seeking, persisting with and deciding to cease treatment; experiences of invasive procedures; parenting after assisted conception; adoption and infertility-related grief and shame among men. Few resource-constrained countries have any data concerning male experiences of infertility.

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“…18,23 There are controversial data on the impact of fertility problems on sexuality and the frequency of intercourses. 24,25 These papers evaluated periods before the revolutionary changes in assisted reproduction. For the majority of couples with a lower sperm count, these procedures were recommended in our surgery as a solution or therapeutic option.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relations between anthropometric parameters and sexual activity of Hungarian men

Rurik

Szigethy

Fekete³

et al. 2012

Int J Impot Res

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In the last decades, there were visible achievements in the evaluation of sexuality-related problems and issues regarding sexual life. However, there are limited reliable and comparable data on the average values of sexual activity and its relation to anthropometric parameters in different populations and age cohorts. This study tries to examine the association between anthropometric parameters and male sexual activity. A clinical population of 1146 male patients between 25 and 45 years of age attending an outpatient clinic of andrology in Budapest (Hungary) was examined and questioned in a medical setting. Age, body height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and self-reported sexual activity were the main outcome measures. The patients were allotted into age groups (25 --29, 30 --39 and 40 --45 years), the youngest group showing the highest coital activity. Although obesity and overweight were present in 61% of the study population, no connections between BMI and sexual activity were apparent. Comparing less active persons with those reporting at least two intercourses per week, significant difference was found between body height groups. Men below 170 cm reported higher activity than men over 180 cm. Despite the fact that the prevalence of obesity among younger generations is increasing, it has had no visible influence on the sexual activity of this age cohort as yet. Our data suggest that sexual activity was not clearly related to other anthropometric parameters, and depends mainly on the characteristics of the population examined. There is a great need for large-scale studies worldwide on larger representative samples, using similar methods, to acquire reliable data from other nations and different age groups.

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The effects of gender‐specific diagnosis on men's and women's response to infertility

Cited by 111 publications

References 15 publications

Male infertility: an obstacle to sexuality?

Male infertility: an obstacle to sexuality?

Psychological and social aspects of infertility in men: an overview of the evidence and implications for psychologically informed clinical care and future research

Relations between anthropometric parameters and sexual activity of Hungarian men

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