Abstract:
Background: Male infertility refers to a male’s inability to result pregnancy in a fertile female. Male factor infertility is a contributing cause in approximately 40% of infertility cases. It is a condition with psychological, economic, and medical implications resulting in trauma, and stress, particularly in a social set-up like ours, with a strong emphasis on childbearing. Moreover, unlike female infertility, male infertility is not well reported in general.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of Male Factor Infertility and Associated Factors among Couples Who Visited for Fertility Treatment at New Leaf Fertility and Reproductive Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2024.
Methods: Facility-based Cross-sectional study design was employed on 425 participants. Medical record from November 01,2023 to April 30, 2024 was used for simple random sampling to select study participants. A pretested data extraction tool was used to obtain a secondary data from medical record by trained data collectors using Kobo Collect. The data was entered in Epi data version 3.01 and cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 27 statistical software. Bi-variable and multi-variable analysis was done to show the associations in between independent and dependent variables.
Result: A total 100% of 425 medical record of male partners were reviewed in the study with and 278 (65.4%) (95%CI 60.7-69.7) had male factor infertility, of this 339(79.8%) have primary infertility. Chewing khat [AOR=2.473; CI 95% (1.313-4.656)] and male who have history of STI [AOR=2.576; CI 95% (1.460-4.543)] were positively associated with Male infertility factors.
Conclusion and Recommendation: The study highlights magnitude of male factor infertility among couples seeking fertility treatment, with significant associations observed between male infertility and factors such as khat chewing and history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). With this, it is recommended to advise men to avoid or reduce khat chewing due to its potential negative impact on male fertility and provide counseling on the risks of khat use as part of fertility assessments. Moreover, encourage routine STI screening and prompt treatment to minimize long-term reproductive damage and educate men about the importance of safe sexual practices to prevent STIs and preserve fertility
