Deafening Silence of Male Infertility

Catherine S Nam; Kevin J Campbell; Chiara Acquati; Raevti Bole; Ava Adler; David J Collins; Erica Collins; Mary Samplaski; Jake Anderson-Bialis; Juan J Andino; Denise Asafu-Adjei; Audrey J Gaskins; Pietro Bortoletto; Sarah C Vij; Kyle E Orwig; Scott D Lundy

doi:10.1016/j.urology.2023.09.018

Deafening Silence of Male Infertility

Urology. 2023 Dec:182:111-124. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2023.09.018. Epub 2023 Sep 29.

Authors

Catherine S Nam¹, Kevin J Campbell², Chiara Acquati³, Raevti Bole⁴, Ava Adler⁵, David J Collins⁶, Erica Collins⁶, Mary Samplaski⁶, Jake Anderson-Bialis⁷, Juan J Andino⁸, Denise Asafu-Adjei⁹, Audrey J Gaskins¹⁰, Pietro Bortoletto¹¹, Sarah C Vij⁴, Kyle E Orwig¹², Scott D Lundy¹³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
² Department of Urology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
³ Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, TX; Department of Clinical Sciences, Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, University of Houston, Houston, TX; Department of Health Disparities Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.
⁴ Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
⁵ Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
⁶ Department of Urology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
⁷ FertilityIQ.
⁸ Department of Urology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
⁹ Department of Urology, Department of Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
¹⁰ Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
¹¹ Boston IVF, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
¹² Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.
¹³ Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH. Electronic address: lundys@ccf.org.

PMID: 37778476
DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2023.09.018

Abstract

Think about 6 loved ones of reproductive age in your life. Now imagine that 1 of these 6 individuals is suffering from infertility. Perhaps they feel alone and isolated, unable to discuss their heartbreak with their closest friends, family, and support network. Suffering in silence. In this editorial, we discuss the infertility journey through the lens of the patients, the providers, and the scientists who struggle with infertility each and every day. Our goal is to open a dialogue surrounding infertility, with an emphasis on dismantling the longstanding societal barriers to acknowledging male infertility as a disease. Through education, communication, compassion, and advocacy, together we can all begin to break the deafening silence of male infertility.

MeSH terms

Communication
Emotions
Humans
Infertility, Male* / etiology
Male
Physicians*