Trend of fertility potentials with increasing age in Pakistani males

ABSTRACT

The objective being to examine the magnitude and the shape of the relationships between age and semen volume, sperm concentration and sperm motility by keeping the other factors affecting fertility directly constant among patients undergoing infertility evaluation at National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Pakistan. This experimental study with non-probability sampling was conducted in Reproductive Physiology/Health, Public Health Laboratories Division, National Institute of Health, Islamabad during 2006-2009. A total 350 patients [21-50 years] were divided age wise into three groups [21-30, 31-40 and 41-50 years] to compare alteration in sperm count and motility. Semen profile was evaluated according to WHO reference value for normal semen characteristics. The result of Sperm concentration showed a non significant [p>0.05] decreasing trend with increasing age that was 0.047million/ml for every year where as sperm motility declined significantly with increasing age at p>0.05. Age-related decreases in semen qualities particularly decline in sperm motility revealed that men may become progressively less fertile as they age. However, unlike women, there appears to be no evidence of an age threshold for men