Decreased male reproductive success in association with mitochondrial dysfunction

The reproductive success of men with mitochondrial disease is to date unreported. We compared the age- and era-adjusted reproductive success of 94 British male patients with mitochondrial disease to that of the UK general male population. The reproductive success of men with mitochondrial disease was 65% of that in the general population (95% confidence interval: 53%; 79%), and the effect magnitude was related to the disease severity. This contrasts with the two previous studies finding that the reproductive success of women with mitochondrial DNA disease is not impaired. We conclude that the reproductive health of men with mitochondrial disease merits increased clinical attention.