{"id":39601,"date":"2025-06-23T12:56:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T12:56:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:56:42","slug":"male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Male infertility: common illnesses that can cause it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Male infertility affects<strong>\u00a0at least three out of every ten couples<\/strong>\u00a0who turn to assisted reproduction clinics. This, among other reasons, is why both members of the couple must always be evaluated for fertility issues.<\/p>\n<p>The male\u2019s situation must always begin with a\u00a0<strong>complete overview of his medical history<\/strong>. Illnesses during childhood, adolescence and adulthood; history of sexual development; surgeries; alcohol, tobacco and drug habits\u2026 all of these factors must be investigated along with a study of semen parameters via a sperm analysis.<\/p>\n<p>The sperm study or semen analysis, according to the World Health Organization\u2019s governing guidelines in 2010, includes\u00a0<strong>a study of the general characteristics of the sperm<\/strong>\u00a0sample, sperm count and concentration of spermatozoids, motility and morphology.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Tabla de contenidos<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #3f3f3f;color:#3f3f3f\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #3f3f3f;color:#3f3f3f\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/#Male_fertility_on_the_decline\" >Male fertility on the decline<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/#Common_illnesses_that_lead_to_male_infertility\" >Common illnesses that lead to male infertility<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/#Varicocele\" >Varicocele<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/#Cryptorchidism\" >Cryptorchidism<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/male-infertility-common-illnesses-that-can-cause-it\/#Orchitis\" >Orchitis<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Male_fertility_on_the_decline\"><\/span>Male fertility on the decline<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nowadays,\u00a0<strong>male sperm quality is not the same as it was\u00a0<\/strong>a few decades ago and many studies which indicate a decline in male fertility have been published.<\/p>\n<p>Among the many factors that have been detected are\u00a0<strong>lifestyle changes and environmental contamination<\/strong>, both of which cause oxidative damage to sperm DNA, thus reducing sperm quantity and motility while increasing morphological defects.<\/p>\n<p>Genetic, endocrine, metabolic, infectious and immune conditions also lead to sperm and fertility issues. Genetic causes can be found in approximately<strong>\u00a010% of males with severe sperm issues<\/strong>, such as azoospermia (absence of spermatozoids in semen), cryptozoospermia and oligoasthenozoospermia, diagnoses that are an indication for additional studies such as karyotyping and the Y\u2011chromosome microdeletion study, among others.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Common_illnesses_that_lead_to_male_infertility\"><\/span>Common illnesses that lead to male infertility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are many illnesses that can\u00a0<strong>result in sperm and fertility issues<\/strong>. Here we are going to explain the most common ones.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Varicocele\"><\/span>Varicocele<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is estimated that this condition affects<strong>\u00a0between 10 and 15% of the male population<\/strong>, and it is an important cause of infertility.<\/p>\n<p>Varicocele is an enlargement of the veins of the testicles which\u00a0<strong>causes the temperature of the testicles to increase<\/strong>\u00a0and negatively impacts how they function.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cryptorchidism\"><\/span>Cryptorchidism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When the male embryo develops, the testicles must descend from the abdomen to the scrotum, as their\u00a0<strong>temperature needs to stay cooler<\/strong>\u00a0than the body\u2019s in order to function properly.<\/p>\n<p>If the testicles only descend partially or don\u2019t descend at all, this is called cryptorchidism and can be unilateral or bilateral. Cryptorchidism, which\u00a0<strong>exposes the testicles to a higher temperature<\/strong>\u00a0than that of the scrotum, affects the production and functioning of spermatozoids.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Orchitis\"><\/span>Orchitis<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Orchitis is the\u00a0<strong>inflammation of one or both testicles<\/strong>. The cause of this condition can be viral (as with the mumps), or can be the result of trauma, an immune condition or a bacterial infection.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from these three conditions, we must also\u00a0<strong>take into consideration hormonal alternations<\/strong>\u00a0such as hypogonadism, testicular cancer (as well as chemotherapy and\/or radiotherapy treatments), and other factors such as the use of anabolic steroids and some antibiotics which can lead to abnormal sperm study results.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/habits-help-boost-male-fertility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Male fertility matters<\/a>, and it matters a lot, as you can imagine. Even in cases of the conditions mentioned above, thanks to the advances in different assisted reproduction techniques such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/in-vitro-fertilisation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ICSI for in vitro fertilisation<\/a>\u00a0nowadays, it is possible to<strong>\u00a0help many males with fertility issues become fathers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Male infertility affects\u00a0at least three out of every ten couples\u00a0who turn to assisted reproduction clinics. This, among other reasons, is why both members of the couple must always be evaluated for fertility issues. The male\u2019s situation must always begin with a\u00a0complete overview of his medical history. Illnesses during childhood, adolescence and adulthood; history of sexual [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[497],"tags":[559,538,528,511,512,504,529,531,518,507,508,520,513,503,541,509,510,599,506,535,515,558,560,564,557,516,505],"class_list":["post-39601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fertility-problems","tag-age","tag-artificial-insemination","tag-assisted-reproduction","tag-assisted-reproduction-clinic-in-algeciras","tag-assisted-reproduction-clinic-in-malaga","tag-assisted-reproduction-techniques","tag-causes-of-infertility","tag-fertility","tag-fertility-clinic","tag-fertility-clinic-in-algeciras","tag-fertility-clinic-in-malaga","tag-fertility-treatments-in-algeciras","tag-fertility-treatments-in-malaga","tag-in-vitro-fertilisation","tag-infertility","tag-ivf-clinic-in-algeciras","tag-ivf-clinic-in-malaga","tag-male-infertility","tag-pregnancy","tag-reproduction-unit-gutenberg-centre","tag-reproductive-treatments","tag-semen-en","tag-seminogram","tag-spermatozoa","tag-sterility","tag-ure-en","tag-ure-centro-gutenberg-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39761,"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39601\/revisions\/39761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urecentrogutenberg.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}