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Little is known the about the reproductive health of offspring after fertility treatment. In 2001-2005, the authors approached young Danish men attending a compulsory physical examination to determine their fitness for military service. A total of 1,925 men volunteered, delivered a semen sample, had a physical examination performed and a blood sample drawn, and responded to a questionnaire. Their mothers were questioned about whether they had received fertility treatment in order to conceive their sons. Forty-seven mothers reported having received fertility treatment to conceive the index subject. After control for confounders, men whose mothers had received fertility treatment to conceive them had a 46% lower sperm concentration (95% confidence interval (CI): -63, -20) and a 45% lower total sperm count (95% CI: -64, -16). They had a smaller testis size (-0.9 ml, 95% CI: -2.2, 0.4), fewer motile sperm (-4.0%, 95% CI: -8.0, -0.1), and fewer morphologically normal spermatozoa (-2.0%, 95% CI: -4.1, 0.0). They also had a lower serum testosterone level and free androgen index (results not statistically significant). These findings should be viewed in light of the increasing use of fertility treatments. Although the cause of these findings is unknown, they raise concern about possible late effects of fertility treatment. Larger-scale studies of children born after fertility treatment should be performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the relationship between self-rated health (SRH) and semen quality., Design: Cross-sectional study of men attending a compulsory physical examination to determine their fitness for military service from 1996 to 2005., Setting: Young men were approached when they were summoned for a compulsory physical examination to determine their fitness for military service in two major Danish cities., Patient(s): A total of 3,457 Danish young men delivered a semen sample, had a physical examination performed, and responded to a questionnaire including a question about SRH., Intervention(s): None., Main Outcome Measure(s): Semen quality and testis size., Result(s): After control for confounders, men with good and poor SRH had, respectively, 0.5 mL (95% CI: -0.8, -0.1) and 0.8 mL (95% CI: -2.4, 0.8) smaller testes size compared to men with very good SRH, the trend was statistically significant. Men with good and poor SRH had, respectively, 12.2% (95% CI: -21.2%, -2.2%) and 26.9% (95% CI: -55.7%, 20.8%) lower total sperm count compared to men with very good SRH, the trend was statistically significant, and had +0.4% (-1.4%, 2.2%) and 1.4% (-3.5%, 0.7%) fewer morphologically normal sperms (trend statistically significant). Percentages of motile spermatozoa and semen volume were not significantly associated with SRH., Conclusion(s): We found significant associations between SRH and semen quality and testicular size. Given the cross-sectional study design, we cannot establish a causal relationship but argue that SRH may be associated with semen quality. Our findings need to be validated and confirmed with other study designs (preferably prospective) and in populations of different age structure and fertility status.

Background: Recent studies found an association between a long waiting time to pregnancy (TTP) and reduced probability of twinning and a reduced dizygotic (DZ) twinning rate in subfertile men. However, it remains unsolved whether semen quality is associated with twin offspring. We therefore studied the semen quality in a group of fathers of naturally conceived twins., Methods: In this study, 37 fathers of DZ twins and 15 fathers of monozygotic (MZ) twins participated, and 349 normal fertile men served as a reference group. All men delivered a semen sample, underwent a physical examination and completed a questionnaire., Results: After adjustment, fathers of DZ and MZ twins had 3.6 (95% CI 1.7; 5.4) and 4.6 (95% CI 2.0; 7.2) percentage points higher percentage of sperm cells with normal morphologic features and percentages of motile sperm cells were 11.5 (95% CI 7.2; 15.9) and 12.5 (95% CI 6.3; 18.6) percentage points higher than the reference group (P < 0.01). Fathers of DZ twins and MZ twins had 24.7 (95% CI; -9.1; 71.3) and 17.0% (-25.2%; 83.0%) higher sperm concentration than the reference group., Conclusions: Fathers of DZ twins had a better semen quality than the reference group, which supports the assumption that spontaneous DZ twinning rate can be used as a sensor of male fecundity of a population.