Vasectomy reversal is the first step in a man’s journey to become a father again after vasectomy. A fair number of men are interested in achieving this goal a bit later in life. NBC’s KXAN network interviewed Dr. Kavoussi on the topic of study published out of Stanford evaluating outcomes of neonates and mothers when the male partner was considered to be in an advanced paternal age range at the time of conception. A large birth registry which included over 40 million documented births in the United States between 2007 and 2016 was quarried, and 9% of births were to fathers over the age of 40. Offspring of fathers greater than 45 years of age had an association with a 14% higher incidence of premature births and lower birth weights (a 0.7 oz difference). Assessments of the health of the baby at birth are performed by APGAR scores. This study reported lower APGAR scores in babies of fathers greater than 55 years of age, as well as a higher incidence of the neonates having to be admitted to the NICU for this same age group. They also found that there was a 28% higher incidence of the mothers developing gestational diabetes with advanced paternal age, and there was no difference in preeclampsia or eclampsia rates based on paternal age.
Dr. Kavoussi states, “The authors of the study adjusted for risks like fathers that were smokers and maternal age, but this database could not allow them to account for other variables that may have impacted these outcomes, such as were these men with more advanced paternal ages severely obese, polysubstance abusers, men with high alcohol intake at the time of conception, had they had chemotherapy or radiation, or did they have varicoceles (abnormally dilated veins around the testicle) which are know to impact the DNA health of the sperm”.
This study states that the risks of these outcomes are relatively low, but further study should be performed from a public health standpoint as there seems to be a trend for men to wait longer to become fathers, and this may be especially true for men undergoing vasectomy reversal.
To watch the news interview click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9H_iOvM_04