title: Are Caucasian-European men delaying fatherhood? Results of a 7 year observational study of infertile couples with male factor infertility.
abstract: This study was aimed at assessing presence and predictors of a trend towards more advanced paternal age at presentation in a cohort of 1283 Caucasian-European infertile couples with male factor infertility (MFI) over a short time frame. Multivariate linear regression analysis tested the association between predictors [namely, partners' age, length of infertility at first presentation, patients' comorbidities as scored with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and educational status] and patient's age at presentation. Using anova, patient's age at presentation (F ratio: 2.43; p = 0.024) and patients' educational status (χ(2) trend: 142.38; p < 0.001) significantly increased over time. In contrast, length of infertility at first presentation, CCI and partners' age did not significantly change over time (all p ≥ 0.05). Linear regression analyses showed that CCI, educational status and year of presentation were not correlated with patients' age at presentation (all p ≥ 0.05), whereas partners' age (β = 0.170; p < 0.001) and length of infertility (β = 0.123; p = 0.004) were independent predictors of delayed fatherhood. These results showed a significant shift towards advanced paternal age, but a non-significant increase of maternal age at first presentation among Caucasian-European infertile couples with MFI over a short time frame.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy. salonia.andrea@hsr.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salonia
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matloob
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saccà
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallina
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Castiglione
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdollah
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raber
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brigante
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Candiani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rigatti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Montorsi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005060:Europe; D005220:Fathers; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010331:Paternal Age; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult