MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Higher infertility among men is a growing problem in Chile

Excessive drinking, drug-taking and smoking, as well as obesity and age all contribute to male infertility

A recent study carried out by the InstitutoValenciano de Infertilidad (IVI) has found a higher rate of infertility in Chilean men than in women. In a survey of 1,800 couples who reported having problems conceiving, infertility was recorded in 85% of males compared with 75% of females.

The study suggests that Chile goes against the international norm. IVI investigations in Central America identified problems in only half of all males surveyed as opposed to 85% of females.

“Until now we believed that female infertility was a much bigger problem than male, but these results suggest otherwise” said IVI Santiago Clinic Director Carlos Troncoso.

Problems with male fertility generally come from a less than normal ability to produce sperm and thus low sperm counts. Excessive drinking, drug-taking and smoking, as well as obesity and age all contribute to male infertility.

According to the IVI, male infertility rates are also growing because diagnosis is easier with modern technology. Further, men are increasingly willing to accept that the problem might with them rather than their partner.

“Men now accept they have a problem and don’t see it as an attack on their masculinity,” said Christian Huidobro of the Santiago Las Condes Clinic.

The finding of sperm deficiency among Chilean men coincides with a survey suggesting that Chilean women are having fewer children than they want to.

A national study conducted by Adimark for Universidad Catolica found that while most women over 30 want to have three children or more, on average they have only two.

Younger women surveyed want to have at least two children, yet on average have only one. Economic reasons are crucial in explaining the shortfall. In the survey, 79% of women believed it better to have fewer children in order to provide them with higher quality education.

Most parents surveyed felt that this meant paying to send their kids to a private school.

Ninety-six percent of Chile’s top-performing schools are private academies funded exclusively by endowments and student tuition, according to the most recent analysis of standardized test results by the Ministry of Education (ST, May 19).

By James Fowler - Santiago Times