‘Men with joint diseases are less fertile’ | Inland

Researcher Luis Perez of the department investigated the issue with the participation of 628 men, who are patients at eight hospitals. “A man without rheumatism has an average of 1.7 children in his life, according to figures from the CBS. Men who develop inflammatory arthritis before their childbearing years have an average of 1.3. That is really a big difference,” concludes Perez on the site of the center. Men who become ill between the ages of 30 and 40, the very period when most men usually become fathers, also have fewer children. These men have a ‘fertility rate’ of 1.56.

Causes

More research needs to be done on the exact cause of the reduced fertility. “I think there are multiple causes,” Perez says. “The disease process itself can have an influence: the inflammatory reactions caused by the disease can negatively affect the seed. We also know that active illness can lead to sexual problems. It is also possible that medication has an influence on it. And I think there are psychosocial factors at play, such as the fear that the disease could be passed on to the child.”

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