46% high-risk young couples infertile: Study

A pan-India survey by Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) has found that 46% high-risk couples in the 31-40 age group are infertile. Of this group, 49% have already undergone in-vitro fertilisation.

The survey, conducted among 2,562 respondents and 100 infertility experts from nine cities, revealed these startling figures.

Dr Hrishikesh Pai, president-elect, ISAR 2014, and scientific director – Advanced Infertility Centre, said more and more younger women are coming in with poorer ovarian reserves. “There is no explanation for this, but this is a reason for the rising infertility,” he said.

He elaborated that while 41% of men are infertile due to problems concerning sperm (oligospermia or poor sperm count), 40% of women are infertile because of the polycystic ovarian disorder, followed by tubal factors (35%).

Factors leading to compounding of infertility are many and differ in men and women; stress, however, is the common one and is emerging as one of the biggest causes.

Until a few years back, women were mainly blamed for infertility as it was not diagnosed in men. But now, doctors say, the ratio is 50:50.

Specialists say that sperm count of a normal Indian adult has plunged to around 20 million per ml, one-third of what it was three decades ago.

Infertility specialist Dr Duru Shah said, “Nearly one in five healthy men between the ages of 18 and 25 has an abnormal sperm count. Unlike a few decades ago, now, we see male infertility the reason behind 40% of cases wherein a couple is unable to conceive. While there are multiple factors that lead to infertility in a man or woman, stress is one factor that can’t be ruled out.”

Losing fertility due to stress?
A survey has revealed that 46% high-risk couples in the 31-40 age group are infertile. Of this group, 49% have already undergone in-vitro fertilisation
In the past,  women were blamed for infertility but now doctors say that the number of cases of infertile men is just as much as women.

Though medical experts attribute multiple factors that lead to infertility, stress as one of these is not ruled out.