Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40675242›Full record

ArticleFertility and sterility2025

Risk of mortality in family members of men seeking fertility assessment.

Joemy M Ramsay, Cameron Shonnard, Heidi A Hanson, Joshua J Horns, Benjamin R Emery, Kenneth I Aston, Joshua M Stern, James M Hotaling

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Fertility and sterility, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Joemy M RamsayDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Electronic address: joemy.ramsay@utah.edu.
Cameron ShonnardSchool of Medicine, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada.
Heidi A HansonComputational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oakridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Joshua J HornsDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Benjamin R EmeryDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Kenneth I AstonDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Joshua M SternIntermountain Urologic Institute, Intermountain Health, Salt Lake City, Utah.
James M HotalingDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Funding

GEMS: Genomic approach to connecting Elevated germline Mutation rates with male infertility and Somatic healthR01HD106112 · NICHD · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI ASTON, KENNETH IVAN, HOTALING, JAMES · 2021 to 2025
$3.8M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD106112
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess mortality in family members of men seeking fertility assessment. Subfertility serves as a biomarker for overall somatic health, and poor semen quality is associated with increased risk of hospitalization and mortality from chronic conditions. However, it is unclear if these risks extend to family members of men with low sperm count.

designRetrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: Family members, up to third-degree relatives, of men in the Subfertility, Health and Assisted Reproduction and the Environment cohort who underwent a semen analysis as part of a fertility assessment 1996-2017. Relatives of men with a recorded total sperm count who lived in Utah for ≥1 year 1904-2017 were included in the analysis (N = 22,280 families). EXPOSURE: Individuals were classified by family membership. Families were classified as relatives of azoospermic (0M), oligozoospermic (<39M), or normozoospermic (≥39M) men. The average total sperm count of the proband (male relative) with fertility assessment was also included as a continuous exposure measure.

main outcome measuresThe main outcomes were all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk by sex, age, and degree of relation: first-, second-, and third-degree. Cox proportional hazard models were used to test the association between fertility classification and mortality, controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, and birth year.

resultsA total of 666,437 relatives of men with fertility assessment (N

conclusionOur results suggest that familial all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk differ by fertility phenotype. Families of azoospermic and oligozoospermic men showed significantly increased risk, particularly for close relatives. This study provides further evidence that shared genetic and/or environmental factors could influence both fertility and somatic health.

Indexed as

FamilyFertilityInfertility, MaleOligospermiaAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPedigreeRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsSemen AnalysisSperm CountUtahfamilial mortality riskMale fertilitymortality risk patterns

Identifiers

PMID40675242
PMCPMC13142778

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.