Trial reportThe Journal of urology2019
Fertility Related Quality of Life, Gonadal Function and Erectile Dysfunction in Male Partners of Couples with Unexplained Infertility.
Trial report in The Journal of urology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of reproductive dysfunction in male infertility: a meta-analysis.Hormones (Athens, Greece) · 2025Pooled it
- "Am I Masculine?" A metasynthesis of qualitative studies on traditional masculinity on infertility.F1000Research · 2023Pooled it
- The web-based Pleasure&Pregnancy programme in the treatment of unexplained infertility: a randomized controlled trial.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its association with fertility quality of life among infertile men in Henan, China.Reproduction & fertility · 2026Article
- Sexual functioning, mental health and quality of life in 46,XX male: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2026Article
- Normozoospermic men in infertile couples: Potential benefit of early medical diagnostic procedures.Andrology · 2026Article
- Associations of anxiety and depression with sexual health among infertility patients: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Unlocking the power of semen analysis in primary health care - a path to men's health and lifestyle transformation.Nature reviews. Urology · 2025Review
- Depression, anxiety, and stress impair sperm quality via dysregulation of the mitochondrial PDK-PDC axis.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2025Article
- Association of chronotype and depression symptoms in Chinese infertile population undergoing assisted reproductive technology.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Long-term outcomes of erectile function in adult orchidopexy patients.Asian journal of urology · 2024Article
- Management of Male Infertility with Coexisting Sexual Dysfunction: A Consensus Statement and Clinical Recommendations from the Asia-Pacific Society of Sexual Medicine (APSSM) and the Asian Society of Men's Health and Aging (ASMHA).The world journal of men's health · 2024Review
- Association between mental health and male fertility: depression, rather than anxiety, is linked to decreased semen quality.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Male Infertility - What about Mental Health?Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2023Article
- The seahorse (Journal of advanced veterinary and animal research · 2023Article
- Perceived financial burden is indirectly linked to sexual well-beingFrontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Impact of infertility duration on male sexual function and mental health.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2022Article
- Sexual Function, Self-Esteem, and Quality of Life in Infertile Couples Undergoing in vitro Fertilization: A Dyadic Approach.Psychology research and behavior management · 2022Article
- The Inferto-Sex Syndrome (ISS): sexual dysfunction in fertility care setting and assisted reproduction.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2021Review
- A North American prospective study of depression, psychotropic medication use, and semen quality.Fertility and sterility · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors at 16 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeWe sought to determine whether lower fertility related quality of life or depression in men of couples with unexplained infertility is associated with low total testosterone levels, abnormal semen quality or erectile dysfunction. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis study is a secondary analysis of a large, multicenter, randomized controlled trial in couples with unexplained infertility. Male partners underwent baseline semen analysis with measurement of fasting total testosterone and gonadotropin. They also completed surveys, including the FertiQOL (Fertility Quality of Life), the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and the IIEF (International Index of Erectile Function). The primary study outcomes were total testosterone with low total testosterone defined as less than 264 ng/dl, semen parameters and the IIEF score. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses adjusted for patient age, race, body mass index, education, smoking, alcohol use, infertility duration and comorbidity.
resultsA total of 708 men with a mean ± SD age of 34.2 ± 5.6 were included in study. Of the men 59 (8.3%) had a PHQ-9 score of 5 or greater, which was consistent with depression, 99 (14.0%) had low total testosterone and 63 (9.0%) had mild or worse erectile dysfunction. Neither the FertiQOL score nor depression was associated with total testosterone or any semen parameter. The FertiQOL score was inversely associated with erectile dysfunction (for every 5-point score decline AOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.16-1.46). Depressed men were significantly more likely to have erectile dysfunction than nondepressed men (AOR 6.31, 95% CI 3.12-12.77).
conclusionsIn men in couples with unexplained infertility lower fertility related quality of life and depression are strongly associated with erectile dysfunction. However, neither is associated with spermatogenesis or testosterone levels. Erectile dysfunction in infertile men merits longitudinal investigation in future studies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.