Do men become infertile after having sexually transmitted urethritis? An epidemiologic examination.
Fertil Steril
; 68(2): 205-13, 1997 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9240243
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To critically assess the possibility that gonorrhea or chlamydia causes male infertility.DESIGN:
Comprehensive literature review structured to evaluate the epidemiologic tenets for causality, including biologic plausibility, strength of association, dose response, consistency, temporality, and treatment effect. RESULT(S) It is biologically plausible that gonorrhea and/or chlamydia could cause male infertility. There is clinical and pathologic evidence linking these pathogens to urethritis, linking urethritis to epididymo-orchitis, and linking epididymo-orchitis to infertility. Retrospective epidemiologic results also support an association between chlamydia serologies and male infertility, which in most of these small studies does not reach the level of statistical significance. However, there is no consistent epidemiologic evidence that these pathogens alter sperm characteristics. We discuss the methodologic limitations of previous epidemiologic studies and suggest strategies for future research. CONCLUSION(S) Whether gonorrhea and/or chlamydia cause male infertility is currently unclear. Sound methodologic research strategies must be applied to future studies.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Uretrite
/
Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis
/
Infertilidade Masculina
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Fertil Steril
Ano de publicação:
1997
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos