Life Time Mortality of Men with Normal and with Subnormal Sperm Counts

Sabine Groos, University of Marburg
Walter Krause, University of Marburg

Here we in one of the first such studies report on the lifetime mortality of all men with normal and low sperm counts measured in the outpatient facility of the Department of Andrology at Marburg University Hospital from 1949 onwards. Cases with co-morbidity were excluded. Of 634 men (the youngest born in 1937), we know either death dates or that they were alive by end 2002. Of 413 normozoospermic men, 113 have died, of 125 oligozoospermic men, 44, of 96 azoospermic men, 39. In a lifetable analysis by exact duration of life with birth date and date of count controlled, we observed a mortality of the three groups of 27,4%, 35,2% and 40,6% resp. The difference between the normozoospermia group and the two other groups was significant (Gehan statistics 7,150, p=.028.) We conclude that men with subnormal sperm counts had a lower life expectancy, even if they showed no comorbidity.