Finding in new research published in the Andrology supports the emerging picture of general poor health and significantly impaired kidney function associated with male infertility.
They aimed to i) assess kidney function in men presenting for primary couple's infertility compared to fertile men; and, ii) assess kidney function impairment toward sperm quality in infertile men.
In this case-control study 387 consecutive white-European infertile men were matched by age with 134 same-ethnicity fertile men. Complete clinical and laboratories data were available for each patient. The Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) function was used for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculation. Kidney functional impairment was defined as an eGFR<90 ml/min/1.73m2, according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to i) assess the association between kidney function impairment and infertility status; and, ii) investigate the association between kidney function and semen analysis abnormalities in infertile men.

Results
After matching, 34 (8.8%) infertile men depicted at least a mild unknown impairment of kidney function compared to only 4 (3%) fertile men, with 4 (3%) of the infertile presenting with an overt kidney function impairment (eGFR<60 ml/min /1.73m2). There were no differences in terms of age, BMI and rate of comorbidities between the two groups (all p>0.05). After adjusting for major confounders, infertility status was associated with a higher risk of reduced eGFR (OR 3.20; 1.21-5.2; p = 0.002). Conversely, eGFR was not associated with sperm abnormalities in infertile men.
Mild kidney function impairment was found in 9% of asymptomatic and unaware men presenting for primary couple's infertility investigation. This novel finding corroborates growing data on a significant association of male infertility with a poorer overall male health status and the need for tailored preventive strategies.
Reference:
Fallara, G, Capogrosso, P, Pozzi, E, et al. Kidney function impairment in men with primary infertility: A case-control analysis. Andrology. 2023; 00- 00. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13425