Immune-related disease before and after vasectomy: an epidemiological database study.
BACKGROUND
Vasectomy can be followed by an autoimmune-antibody response. We aimed to determine whether men with immune-related diseases were more or less likely than others to have a vasectomy and then to determine whether vasectomy is associated with the subsequent development of immune-related diseases.


METHODS
A database of linked records of hospital statistics was analysed. By comparing a population of men who underwent vasectomy with a reference population, we calculated the rate ratios for selected immune-related diseases before and after vasectomy.


RESULTS
Some diseases studied (e.g. asthma and diabetes mellitus) were a little less common, prior to operation, in the vasectomy group than in the reference group. Others were not different. The mean period of follow-up was 13 years. We found no long-term elevation of risk following vasectomy of asthma, diabetes mellitus, ankylosing spondylitis, thyrotoxicosis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis or testicular atrophy. There was a short-term elevation of risk of orchitis/epididymitis.


CONCLUSIONS
In this large study, with many years of follow-up, we found no evidence that vasectomy increases the subsequent long-term risk of immune-related diseases.
Goldacre
M J
MJ
Unit of Health-Care Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. michael.goldacre@dphpc.ox.ac.uk
Wotton
C J
CJ
Seagroatt
V
V
Yeates
D
D
D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004823:Epididymitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D009920:Orchitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014659:Vasectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*