A 2025 review found that men with infertility are more likely to have certain health conditions, but the reasons aren’t clear and the overall risks are still low, suggesting that fertility testing can be a good chance to check on general health.
Research has shown that men with low sperm counts or poor semen quality may also have higher rates of certain health problems. Some have even suggested that a semen analysis could serve as a vital sign, the same way elevated blood pressure can signal cardiovascular risk.
A new review by Caroppo and Eisenberg (2025) looked across larger studies to see whether infertile men are more likely to develop chronic diseases or experience earlier mortality. This was a narrative review, meaning the authors examined and summarized existing research rather than performing a new analysis.
🔗 Original studies are referenced in this post or within the linked Remembryo posts.
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What the evidence shows about male infertility and long-term health
Here’s some of the key studies cited by Caroppo and Eisenberg (2025) relating to different health conditions and male infertility. These findings show increased relative risk, but the absolute risk for these conditions remains low. For example, “twice the risk” could mean moving from 0.001% to 0.002%, which is still a very small overall chance. In most cases, these studies describe how often male factor infertility and another condition occur together, rather than the chance of developing the condition after an infertility diagnosis.
Cancer
- Testicular cancer: According to a meta-analysis by Del Giudice et al. (2020), infertile men have about twice the risk of developing testicular cancer compared to fertile men (risk ratio [95% CI]: 2.0 [1.7–2.5]).
- Prostate cancer: Al-Jebari et al. (2019) reported that men with more severe infertility, who needed ICSI, had a higher chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer compared to men who conceived without IVF or ICSI. The risk was more elevated for ICSI users than for IVF users (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 1.64 [1.25–2.15] for ICSI; 1.33 [1.06–1.66] for IVF).
- Male breast cancer: Swerdlow et al. (2022) found that infertile men have more than twice the odds of developing male breast cancer (odds ratio [95% CI]: 2.03 [1.18–3.49]).
Cardiovascular disease
- Eisenberg et al. (2015) showed that infertile men have about a 50% higher chance of developing coronary heart disease (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 1.48 [1.19–1.84]).
- Long-term Taiwanese data from Chen et al. (2022) also show about a 50% higher cardiovascular risk in infertile men (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 1.47 [1.29–1.68]).
Metabolic disease
- Glazer et al. (2017) found that infertile Danish men have close to a 50% higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes, and the risk rises with worsening sperm production: oligospermia, azoospermia, and aspermia each had a higher risk (hazard ratios: 1.44; 2.10; 3.20).
- A large US study also showed an increased diabetes risk in men diagnosed with male factor infertility (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 1.30 [1.10–1.53]) (Eisenberg et al. 2016).
Autoimmune disease
- Brubaker et al. (2018) reported that infertile US men are more likely to be diagnosed with autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, and thyroiditis. For lupus, there was twice the risk (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 2.12 [1.52–2.96]).
- A Danish registry study found about a 60% higher odds of multiple sclerosis in men with male factor infertility (odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.61 [1.04–2.51]) (Glazer et al. 2018).
Mortality
- Del Giudice et al. (2021) found that infertile men have a higher chance of dying earlier than fertile men (hazard ratio [95% CI]: 1.26 [1.01–1.59]), and that this risk increased with more severe male factor.
- Priskorn et al. (2025) showed that better semen quality is linked to longer life expectancy, with higher total motile counts associated with several additional years of life (80.3 years vs 77.6 years).
Why male infertility might be associated with other health risks
The review discussed several mechanisms, but none of them are definitively proven.
Immune dysregulation. Infertile men often show signatures of chronic inflammation and altered immune cell profiles. These immune features are also implicated in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Whether immune changes cause infertility or reflect shared underlying pathways isn’t clear.
Environmental and lifestyle exposures. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, air pollutants, tobacco, and obesity affect spermatogenesis, and many of these exposures can also increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic issues.
Epigenetic alterations. Animal studies show that exposures to pesticides or endocrine-disrupting chemicals can produce long-lasting epigenetic changes that can increase disease susceptibility across generations. Human studies also report epigenetic patterns in sperm from infertile men.
Conclusions
Across many studies, men with infertility are more likely to have certain health issues, including some cancers, heart disease, metabolic problems, autoimmune conditions, and a higher chance of early death. These risks tend to increase as sperm production becomes more severely impaired.
It’s not clear why this happens, but changes in the immune system, environmental exposures, and differences in sperm epigenetics are the main ideas being explored.
This doesn’t mean infertility causes these conditions, or that infertile men will ever develop them. In fact, the risks for these conditions still remain very low overall.
The key point is that an infertility evaluation can be a useful moment to check for other health concerns, especially in younger men who might not see a doctor regularly. The authors write that “assessing male fertility may offer a window into future health, facilitating earlier intervention and more personalized preventive care.”
A similar theme has shown up in other research, including a study on unexplained infertility in women that found a higher rate of certain genetic variants linked to medical conditions. While the findings differ, both studies suggest that fertility may sometimes overlap with general health. You can read more about that in my post Study examines link between unexplained infertility and other medical conditions.
Together, these studies highlight that fertility can offer clues about an individual’s overall health, although more research is needed to fully understand the connection.
Related studies
These additional studies were referenced by the authors of the paper and haven’t been covered on Remembryo. They may be helpful if you’re exploring this topic further. This section is available for paid subscribers.
Reference
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About Embryoman
Embryoman (Sean Lauber) is a former embryologist and the founder of Remembryo, an IVF research and fertility education website. After working in an IVF lab in the US, he returned to Canada and now focuses on making fertility research more accessible. He holds a Master’s in Immunology and launched Remembryo in 2018 to help patients and professionals make sense of IVF research. Sean shares weekly study updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit regularly. He also answers questions on Reddit or in his private Facebook group.
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