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Immune-related disease before and after vasectomy: an epidemiological database study
M J Goldacre1, C J Wotton, V Seagroatt
1Unit of Health-Care Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. michael.goldacre@dphpc.ox.ac.uk
Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)
|February 8, 2007
Summary
Vasectomy does not increase the long-term risk of immune-related diseases. This large study found no evidence linking vasectomy to conditions like asthma, diabetes, or autoimmune disorders after 13 years.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Urology
- Public Health
Background:
- Vasectomy may trigger autoimmune-antibody responses.
- Investigating the link between vasectomy and immune-related diseases is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if men with immune-related diseases are more or less likely to have a vasectomy.
- To assess if vasectomy is associated with the subsequent development of immune-related diseases.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a linked database of hospital statistics.
- Comparison of vasectomy patients with a reference population.
- Calculation of rate ratios for immune-related diseases before and after vasectomy.
Main Results:
- No long-term increased risk of asthma, diabetes mellitus, ankylosing spondylitis, thyrotoxicosis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, or testicular atrophy was observed following vasectomy.
- A short-term increase in risk for orchitis/epididymitis was noted.
- Some immune-related diseases were less common pre-vasectomy in the vasectomy group.
Conclusions:
- This extensive study, with a long follow-up period, found no evidence that vasectomy elevates the long-term risk of developing immune-related diseases.
- The findings suggest vasectomy is not a risk factor for subsequent chronic immune conditions.
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