Chromosomal abnormalities in 1663 infertile men with azoospermia: the clinical consequences

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONWhat is the prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities in azoospermic men and what are the clinical consequences in terms of increased risk for absent spermatogenesis, miscarriages and offspring with congenital malformations?SUMMARY ANSWERThe prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities in azoospermia was 14.4%, and the number of azoospermic men needed to be screened (NNS) to identify one man with a chromosomal abnormality with increased risk for absence of spermatogenesis was 72, to prevent one miscarriage 370 –739 and to prevent one child with congenital malformations 4751–23 757.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYInfertility guidelines worldwide advise screening of non-iatrogenic azoospermic men for chromosomal abnormalities, but only few data are available on the clinical consequences of this screening strategy.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONThis retrospective multicentre cross-sectional study of non-iatrogenic azoospermic men was performed at the University Hospital Brussels, Belgium, and the University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands, between January 2000 and July 2016.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSAnalysis of clinical registries retrospectively identified 1663 non-iatrogenic azoospermic men with available results of karyotyping and FSH serum levels. Iatrogenic azoospermia was an exclusion criterion, defined as azoospermia after spermatotoxic medical treatment, exogenous androgen suppletion or vasectomy and/or vasovasostomy. Also, men with a clinica...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research