What are the causes of fertility problems in men?

During my work as a Reproductive Endocrinologist the majority of patients I see are female. On a day-to-day basis the percentage of patients is, hands down, overwhelmingly lopsided. Some may wonder if this is because women have more infertility problems than men? My answer to this myth, is a resounding NO. Contrary to the notoriously common myth, men and women actually have a statistically equal occurrence of infertility. Imagine infertility as a three-way split- 1/3rd of all infertility cases are due to female-factor infertility, 1/3rd are due to male-infertility, and the final 1/3rd is often categorized as “unexplained.” So why is it that Americans often assume that a couple’s infertility struggle is most likely due to the woman? This is most likely because American women tend to seek gynecological care on an annual basis, and have more conversations with their doctors about fertility and their reproductive health. It is also believed that American men might be reluctant to seek advice regarding infertility- ultimately causing male infertility to be underreported in general. [Read more...]