A recent comprehensive study has revealed that men suffering from inflammatory joint diseases, such as arthritis, tend to have more children and are less likely to be childless compared to their healthy counterparts.
Researchers at Stavanger University Hospital in Norway conducted a large-scale observational study using data from the Norwegian Arthritis Registry. The investigation included 10,865 male patients with inflammatory joint diseases, comparing them to a control group of 54,325 men without these conditions. The study analyzed the average number of children per man and the percentage of childless men, factoring in age and the year of diagnosis.
The findings, published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, indicate that men with inflammatory joint diseases have an average of 1.8 children, whereas men in the control group average 1.69 children. Additionally, only 21 percent of men with inflammatory joint diseases were childless, compared to 27 percent of those without the condition. This trend was consistent across most age groups, except for those diagnosed between the ages of 0 and 19.
Dr. Gudrun Sigmo, the study’s corresponding author, attributed these findings to significant advancements in treatment. “Treatment for inflammatory joint diseases has greatly improved due to the advent of potent immune-modulating drugs, new treatment strategies such as ‘treat to target,’ and advanced diagnostic tools,” she noted.
The study also included a sub-analysis based on the year of diagnosis. It found that men diagnosed with inflammatory joint diseases after the year 2000 had a higher average number of children and a lower rate of childlessness compared to earlier years. Specifically, for those diagnosed between ages 30 and 39, only 22 percent were childless, compared to 32 percent in the control group.
While the study’s observational nature limits definitive conclusions about causation, the researchers suggest that male patients with inflammatory joint diseases should not be overly concerned about fertility impairment.
However, this finding contrasts with an unrelated observational study conducted in the Netherlands in 2021, which suggested that men with inflammatory arthritis might have a higher likelihood of infertility.
These divergent results highlight the need for further research to better understand the complex relationship between fertility and inflammatory joint diseases.
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