News | Study Finds Higher Fertility Among Men With Inflammatory Joint Diseases
According to a study published online in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, men with inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis have lower rates of childlessness and more children than healthy men. The finding may be related to unknown factors underlying the diseases or to their treatments.
The incidence of autoimmune diseases is rising in Western countries. Previous research found impaired fertility among Norwegian women with inflammatory joint diseases, but male fertility has received less attention. To investigate, researchers analyzed fertility among 10,865 Norwegian men with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or spondyloarthritis and 54,325 healthy men.
From 1967 to 2021, 111,246 children were born to these 65,190 men. Men with inflammatory joint diseases were an average of 27 years old when they first became fathers, compared with 28 among healthy men. The patients' average age at diagnosis was 44.
Fertility and childlessness data were divided into three periods reflecting major changes in drug treatment for inflammatory joint diseases: 1967–1985, before methotrexate; 1986–1999, during the methotrexate era; and 2000–2021, during the biologics era. Patients had an average of 1.8 children, compared with 1.7 among healthy men. Their childlessness rate was 21%, compared with 27% among healthy men.
These differences were consistent across age groups. They were especially notable in 2000–2021 among men diagnosed around age 30, when the childlessness rate was 22% among patients and 32% among healthy men.
Although this observational study cannot establish causation, its results suggest that men with inflammatory joint diseases need not be overly concerned about impaired fertility. The researchers recommend further studies of specific diagnoses to provide more targeted patient information.
The researchers concluded: “Our findings suggest possible new associations among inflammatory rheumatic diseases, immunomodulating drugs, and fertility that warrant further study.”
News | Study Finds Higher Fertility Among Men With Inflammatory Joint Diseases
News | Study Finds Higher Fertility Among Men With Inflammatory Joint Diseases
According to a study published online in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, men with inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis have lower rates of childlessness and more children than healthy men. The finding may be related to unknown factors underlying the diseases or to their treatments.
The incidence of autoimmune diseases is rising in Western countries. Previous research found impaired fertility among Norwegian women with inflammatory joint diseases, but male fertility has received less attention. To investigate, researchers analyzed fertility among 10,865 Norwegian men with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or spondyloarthritis and 54,325 healthy men.
From 1967 to 2021, 111,246 children were born to these 65,190 men. Men with inflammatory joint diseases were an average of 27 years old when they first became fathers, compared with 28 among healthy men. The patients' average age at diagnosis was 44.
Fertility and childlessness data were divided into three periods reflecting major changes in drug treatment for inflammatory joint diseases: 1967–1985, before methotrexate; 1986–1999, during the methotrexate era; and 2000–2021, during the biologics era. Patients had an average of 1.8 children, compared with 1.7 among healthy men. Their childlessness rate was 21%, compared with 27% among healthy men.
These differences were consistent across age groups. They were especially notable in 2000–2021 among men diagnosed around age 30, when the childlessness rate was 22% among patients and 32% among healthy men.
Although this observational study cannot establish causation, its results suggest that men with inflammatory joint diseases need not be overly concerned about impaired fertility. The researchers recommend further studies of specific diagnoses to provide more targeted patient information.
The researchers concluded: “Our findings suggest possible new associations among inflammatory rheumatic diseases, immunomodulating drugs, and fertility that warrant further study.”
Story source:
Collected online