Obesity May Affect Fertility After Vasectomy Reversal

But female partner's age found to be the only independent predictor of post-surgery pregnancy

THURSDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Obese men who have vasectomy reversal have lower serum testosterone levels and more antisperm antibodies than overweight and normal-weight men, but age of their female partners is the only independent predictor of post-surgery pregnancy, according to research published in the October issue of Urology.

Stefan Hinz, M.D., of Charité University Medicine in Berlin, and colleagues analyzed clinical and laboratory data and post-surgery outcomes, including vas patency and partner pregnancy, for patients who had had vasectomy reversal surgery performed by the same surgeon. The researchers compared the outcomes for men who were of normal weight, overweight, and obese.

For the normal-weight, overweight, and obese men, post-surgery vas patency was found in 93.2, 91.9, and 93.3 percent, respectively (P = .931), while partner pregnancy was achieved for 63.9, 60.2, and 55.6 percent, respectively (P = .672). Men with increased body mass index (BMI) had significantly lower serum testosterone levels, and significant correlations were seen between BMI and both patient age and IgA antisperm antibody levels. After performing logistic regression analysis, the researchers determined that the female partner's age was the only independent predictor of post-surgery pregnancy.

"Our results have highlighted that no specific testing before vasectomy reversal can aid in predicting the fertility outcome and that patients should be counseled that the age of their female partner will have an effect on their likelihood of conceiving after vasectomy reversal," the authors write.

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