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Vieillissement et fertilité de l'homme

Ageing and fecundity of the male

Resume

La fécondabilité du couple diminue rapidement avec l'âge. Déjà a partir de 25 ans, la fécondabilité apparente de la femme diminue, en raison, d'une part, de la mortalité intra-utérine et, d'autre part, de la diminution de la fréquence des rapports sexuels. Après l'âge de 40 ans, la fécondité diminue plus rapidement, en raison essentiellement des changements de la physiologie féminine alors que la fréquence coïtale n'a qu'un impact limité.

La qualité du sperme et son pouvoir fécondant ne diminuent que marginalement avec l'âge, mais libido et fréquence coïtale déclinent, alors que la fréquence de l'impuissance sexuelle augmente rapidement. Alors que le rôle de la diminution de la testostéronémie sur la libido et l'appétit sexuel est évident, son rôle dans la genèse de l'impuissance est généralement marginal. En ce qui concerne l'influence de l'âge sur la fécondabilité du couple, l'âge de la femme plutôt que celui du mari est le facteur prédominant.

Abstract

The decreased androgen levels in the ageing male have an evident effect on libido, sex life and coital frequency, whereas its role in impotence, the frequency of which increases dramatically in old age, is only marginal. Sperm quality as well as its fertilizing capacity decreases only minimally with age: there is some decrease in motility as well as an increase in percentage of spermatozoa with abnormal morphology, but sperm density remains unchanged, notwithstanding decreased spermatogenesis.

After age 25, apparent fecundability of the woman decreases; this is attributable, on the one hand to an increase of the intrauterine mortality and, on the other hand to the declining coital frequency. After age of 35, female fecundity decreases more rapidly, due to changes in female physiology (increased frequency of anovulatory cycles, short luteal phase etc), whereas the normal, age dependent, decrease in coital frequency has little impact on the age pattern of fecundability.

As far as the influence of the age pattern on the fecundity of the couple is concerned, it is concluded that the age of the female partner, rather than the age of the husband is the predominant factor determining the fecundability of the couple.

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Vermeulen, A., Belaisch, J. Vieillissement et fertilité de l'homme. Androl. 7, 212–219 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03034934

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