Impact of male infertility on men's self-esteem and satisfaction with sexual relationship / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the impact of infertility on men's self-esteem, self-confidence, sexual satisfaction and overall relationship with their spouses.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using Self-Esteem and Relationship questionnaire (SEAR), we conducted an investigation among 253 infertile men and 52 fertile male controls. We divided the infertile men into four subgroups according to their perceived causes of infertility: male (M) factors, female (F) factors, both M and F factors, and unknown factors, and compared the SEAR scores among different groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the infertile men, the total SEAR score was significantly higher in those with < 3 years than in those with > or = 3 years of infertility duration (75.50 +/- 17.05 vs 68.66 +/- 17.19, P < 0.05) and so was it in those with above-high-school than in those with high-school or lower education background (81.42 +/- 13.99 vs 67.61 +/- 17. 8, P < 0.01), but showed no significant difference between the > or = 30- and < 30-year-olds (71.77 +/- 17.42 vs 72.74 +/- 18.38, P > 0.05). The total SEAR scores in the M factor, M & F factor, unknown factor and F factor groups were 65.69 +/- 18.68, 68.52 +/- 17.68, 74.85 +/- 15.19 and 83.21 +/- 12.61, respectively, with significant differences between the first two and the latter two groups (P < 0.05), as well as between the unknown factor and F factor groups (P < 0.05). In the fertile male controls, the total SEAR score and subdomain scores on sexual relationship, self-confidence, self-esteem and overall relationship were 90.04 +/- 9.85, 88.40 +/- 10.74, 92.23 +/- 9.41, 91.95 +/- 10.67 and 90.38 +/- 14.14, respectively, all remarkably higher than in the M factor, M&F factor and unknown factor groups of the infertile men after adjustment of their infertility duration and education levels (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Infertility reduces men's self-esteem, self-confidence, sexual satisfaction and relationship with their spouses, and the degree of its impact is correlated with the patients' infertility duration and education level.</p>

Impact of perceived male infertility factors on penile erectile function / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the impact of the factors of perceived male infertility on men's penile erectile function.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), we investigated the penile erectile function among 245 infertile men (infertility group) and another 52 males having physical checkup for planned conception (checkup group), the former further divided into four subgroups according to the factors of infertility: male factor, female factor, bilateral factor, and unknown factor. We compared the total and item scores of IIEF-5 among different groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mild or mild-moderate ED was found in 50.61% of the infertile men, with a total IIEF-5 score of 21.24 +/- 2.58. The total and item scores of IIEF-5 were markedly higher in the male factor than in the female factor subgroup (P < 0.01), but with no significant difference between the male factor subgroup and the bilateral and unknown factor subgroups (P > 0.05), except the score on confidence. The scores were significantly lower in the bilateral and unknown factor subgroups than in the female factor subgroup (P < 0.05), with no remarkable difference between the former two. In the infertility group, the total and item scores of IIEF-5 were markedly higher in those with education above high school than in those with high school or lower education (P < 0.01), but not correlated with age and infertility duration. After adjustment for education background, the total IIEF-5 score and the scores on confidence and satisfaction were significantly lower in the infertility than in the checkup group (P < 0.05), and 15.38% of the men in the latter group had mild ED, dramatically lower than in the former (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Perceived infertility may cause ED in males, and a higher incidence rate is associated with lower education background of the men.</p>