Increased frequency of reproductive health problems among fathers of boys with hypospadias

BACKGROUND: Some studies have suggested an association between paternal subfertility and hypospadias among their sons, although the association has not been systematically investigated. We therefore compared male reproductive health among a group of fathers of boys with hypospadias and a group of fathers to normal children.

METHODS: A total of 64 fathers of boys with hypospadias participated; 349 partners of pregnant women served as a control group. All men delivered a semen sample, had a blood sample drawn, underwent a physical examination and completed a questionnaire.

RESULTS: Fathers of boys with hypospadias had a significantly lower median sperm concentration (54.1 x 10(6)/ml) (P = 0.004) and total sperm count (222.0 x 10(6)) (P = 0.009) than the controls (81.2 and 326.0 x 10(6)/ml). In addition, the fathers of boys with hypospadias more often reported to have had disorders in the urogenital system (hypospadias, cryptorchidism and testicular cancer) (11/64) (P < 0.001) than the control group (16/349). No significant differences in waiting time to pregnancy was observed, however, 15% of fathers to boys with hypospadias had received fertility treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: Fathers of boys with hypospadias not only have an increased frequency of hypospadias, but also decreased semen quality. Most likely fathers and sons share the same susceptibility genes for reproductive dysfunction, but additional impact of environmental factors cannot be excluded.