Journal of Andrology, Vol. 25, No. 5, September/October 2004
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
Phenotypic Characteristics of Male Subfertility and Its Familial Occurrence
RON J. T. VAN GOLDE*,
IRENE A. M. VAN DER AVOORT*,
,
JOEP H. A. M. TUERLINGS
,
LAMBERTUS A. KIEMENEY
,
,
ERIC J. H. MEULEMAN
,
DIDI D. M. BRAAT* AND
JAN A. M. KREMER*
From the * Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, the
Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics, the
Department of Human
Genetics, and the
Department of Urology,
University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
|
Correspondence to: Dr Ron J. T. van Golde, Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen,
The Netherlands (e-mail:
r.vangolde{at}obgyn.umcn.nl). |
Genetic factors can attribute to male subfertility. A case-control study
was carried out to investigate familial occurrence of male subfertility and
the phenotypic characteristics of familial male subfertility. The medical data
and family histories of 253 severely subfertile men who were candidates for
intracytoplasmic sperm injection were compared to the data from 243 randomly
selected men. The prevalence of male fertility problems among brothers and
maternal uncles of subfertile men was significantly higher than among controls
(brothers 10.4% vs 0.5% and maternal uncles 1.7% vs 0.2%). The phenotypes of
subfertile men with a positive family history more often showed normal levels
of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) compared to
the phenotypes of subfertile men with a negative family history. In addition,
subfertile men with a positive family history had a lower percentage of motile
sperm. Genetic aberrations, including a chromosomal abnormality or a
microdeletion of the Y chromosome, were present in 13.8% of the severely
subfertile men. Male subfertility appears to have a familial occurrence,
especially among brothers and maternal uncles. Furthermore, examinatoin of the
data suggests that subfertile men with a familial occurrence of male
subfertility more often have normal levels of FSH and LH and a lower
percentage of motile sperm.
Key words: Male infertility, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, genetics, family history
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Copyright © 2004 by The American Society of Andrology.