Men responsible for half of infertility cases

dubai — Men in the UAE are aware of the “rights and wrongs” of their reproductive health, indicating a more open-minded approach to the subject, according to a new research.

Bourn Hall Fertility Centre conducted the study across several nationalities between ages 25 and 56, focusing on issues such as smoking, exercise and obesity, and lifestyle habits that could affect sperm production.

One in five couples living in the UAE face infertility-related issues and in almost 50 per cent cases, men are the contributing factor. Medical practitioners largely place the blame on stress, obesity, smoking and other unhealthy lifestyle habits. “We hope that such studies will be instrumental in changing attitudes and behaviours of men towards the issue, since it shows that men are now willing to address their reproductive problems, instead of brushing them under the carpet,” said Dr David Robertson, Group Medical Director at Bourn Hall Fertility Centre.

“For example, we saw that an overwhelming 84 per cent agreed that when a couple is unable to conceive, the problem is not always with the female partner. Similarly, 91 per cent of the participants understood the negative effects of passive and active smoking on fertility, even if it’s less than 10 cigarettes a day,” Dr David added.

The survey also revealed that men realised the significance of wearing looser underwear (84 per cent said wearing tight underwear could lead to infertility issues) as well as the negative effects of working on a laptop placed on one’s lap (72 per cent believe it can be harmful). “The optimum temperature for sperm production has to be slightly cooler than our regular body temperature,” explained Dr David.

“A tight underwear can raise that temperature, resulting in poor sperm mobility .

reporters@khaleejtimes.com