Male factor infertility and implication of fertility treatment in low resource settings

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of infertility has increased worldwide. The etiological factors are also changing in trend and prominence. Male infertility is driving the epidemic in many regions of the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore male factor infertility in the Gambia. Methodology: The design was a longitudinal descriptive study of subfertile couples at a specialist tertiary hospital in Banjul, the Gambia, from August 2022 to May 2023. Data were extracted from patients folders and entered into a computer database. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and results expressed in tables, graphs, and percentages. Results: Total number of subfertile couples analyzed was 152: male factor 69 (45.4%), ovulation disorder 34 (22.4%), tubal factor 20 (13.2%), uterine factor 8 (5.3%), and unexplained 21 (13.8%). The median age of male folk was 50 years, with an age range of 31 to 64 years. The rates of asthenoteratozospermia, oligospermia, and azospermia were 37.8%, 36.2%, and 26%, respectively. In azoospermic males, over 75% had elevated FSH (12–44 miu/mL). Conclusions: The prevalence of male infertility is at 45.4%, which is 3-fold and 2-fold higher than tubal and ovarian factors, respectively. Male infertility is a problem with obvious implications. The predominant types of male infertility we observed in this study will almost always require multidisciplinary care and ICSI.