Pnm-4: Risk Factors Associated with Infertility

Background Infertility is the inability to conceive children after one year of unprotected intercourse. The estimated prevalence of infertility in Canada is 11.5-15.7%. Fertility problems affect approximately one in seven couples in the United Kingdom (UK). Infertility occurs in conditions in which the pregnancies end with recurrent miscarriages (ASR) or birth of a child with multiple congenital anomalies. MaterialsAndMethods This article is review article in which, articles about risk factors associated with infertility have been reviewed. Searching performed in some databases like PubMed, Scopus, Springer and Science Direct. Fifteen full text articles in English from 2010 until 2015 were found which their topic was similar to our topic. Keywords that have been used included: infertility, infertility risk factors. Results One of the causes of damage to both female and male reproductive systems was a delayed or untreated sexually transmitted infection (STI). The most common STIs that cause female and male infertility were Chlamydia and gonorrhea. Articles showed that The risk of infertility was increased with advanced age of the female partner. Reviewing articles revealed that secondary infertility was a common, preventable but neglected reproductive health problem in poor countries. Risk factors for secondary infertility were a history of no prenatal care during the last pregnancy, early age of first pregnancy, unwanted pregnancies and stillbirths. According to articles, infertility was often associated with unbalanced chromosome abnormality. According to researches, women with obesity, especially those with central adiposity, had difficulty in getting pregnant and had decreased success in infertility treatment. The association of obesity with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was a contributor to infertility rates in women with obesity. Articles showed that about %10 of infertile/subfertile women are diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). By searching we found that the weight loss resulting from bariatric surgery can be very beneficial to the overall health of the woman, but the reproductive process can be impaired. Conclusion According to researches, female infertility may present as anovulation, obstructed fallopian tubes, endometriosis or uterine abnormalities. Male factor infertility is characterized by diminished production of morphologically normal, motile sperm. Genetic abnormalities, hormonal imbalances and congenital/infectious malformations of the reproductive tract are some of the common causes of male and female infertility. Lifestyle factors such as obesity, diet, smoking and alcohol use along with environmental chemical exposures have been increasingly examined as additional modifiers of fertility.