Male sterility (synonyms: Aspermatogenesis; Aspermia; Azoospermia; Male fertility disorder; Male infertility; Male infertility after vasectomy; Necrospermia; Necrozoospermia; OAT; Oligo-Astheno-teratozoospermia; Oligo-Astheno-zoospermia; Oligo-Azoospermia; Oligozoospermia; Sterility; Infertility (male); Inability to conceive; ICD-10 N46: Sterility in men) can only be considered if no pregnancy occurs during regular sexual intercourse twice a week within one to two years (with inconspicuous examination results on the part of the woman) or when a spermiogram (sperm cell examination) proves or declares infertility to be probable.
There are many causes of infertility in both men and women. In each case, 39% of infertility is caused by the woman alone, and in another 26% by both the man and the woman. In 15% of all couples, the cause of infertility remains unexplained. Therefore, infertility treatment is always a couple therapy.
Frequency peak: The natural fertility (fertility) of the man decreases slowly starting at the age of 40 – however, in individual cases it can remain until old age. A woman’s peak natural fertility is between the ages of 15 and 25 and declines steadily thereafter. With the onset of menopause (female menopause), natural fertility ends.
12.5% of women and 10.1% of men have experienced an unfulfilled desire to have children during their lifetime. In the 35 to 44 year old female age group, the percentage was 17.7%.
The prevalence (disease incidence) is 15-20% of all couples in Western industrialized countries. Worldwide, the median prevalence rate for infertility is 9%. The lifetime prevalence (disease incidence over a lifetime) is reported to be 4%.
Course and prognosis: The success of infertility treatment depends strongly on the individual conditions of the couple. Influencing factors are, among others, the age of the woman as well as the psychological condition of the couple. If the cause of infertility cannot be eliminated, there is the possibility of in vitro fertilization (IVF; method for artificial insemination) in combination with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI; a sperm (sperm cell) is injected directly into the cytoplasm (ooplasm) of an oocyte (egg cell)).
