Obstructive sleep apnea increases infertility risk in men reveals JAMA study

Patients with male infertility and randomly selected patients without male infertility were matched using a 1:4 propensity score matching ratio. The primary outcome laid out was the risk factor of OSA (diagnosed through polysomnography). A secondary outcome was the association of the risk of male infertility with OSA exposure time interval (short term, middle term, and long term) and OSA management (ie, none, continuous positive airway pressure, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, or both).

The following results were noted-

1. In the multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis, OSA was an independent risk factor associated with infertility (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.24; 95% CI, 1.10-1.64; P = .003). The absolute risk was 0.204 (95% CI, 0.092-0.391).
2. For patients with OSA in the group without treatment, the adjusted OR was 1.80 (95% CI, 1.56-2.07; P < .001) for infertility compared with patients without OSA.

Therefore, it was concluded that "OSA increases the risk of infertility in male patients, and the risk is associated with the OSA exposure time. Furthermore, no OSA management or treatment is associated with a higher infertility risk."