Are Caucasian–European men delaying fatherhood? Results of a 7 year observational study of infertile couples with male factor infertility

Summary This study was aimed at assessing presence and predictors of a trend towards more advanced paternal age at presentation in a cohort of 1283 Caucasian–European infertile couples with male factor infertility (MFI) over a short time frame. Multivariate linear regression analysis tested the association between predictors [namely, partners’ age, length of infertility at first presentation, patients’ comorbidities as scored with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and educational status] and patient’s age at presentation. Using anova , patient’s age at presentation ( F ratio: 2.43; p  =   0.024) and patients’ educational status (χ 2 trend: 142.38; p  <   0.001) significantly increased over time. In contrast, length of infertility at first presentation, CCI and partners’ age did not significantly change over time (all p  ≥   0.05). Linear regression analyses showed that CCI, educational status and year of presentation were not correlated with patients’ age at presentation (all p  ≥   0.05), whereas partners’ age (β = 0.170; p  <   0.001) and length of infertility (β = 0.123; p  =   0.004) were independent predictors of delayed fatherhood. These results showed a significant shift towards advanced paternal age, but a non‐significant increase of maternal age at first presentation among Caucasian–European infertile couples with MFI over a short time frame.