Male reproductive health is a cause for concern – Information from the Asia-Pacific Andrology Forum

Male reproductive health is not optimistic.

Zhang Jiansong, Zhang Xuequan

Many people today believe that men are often superior to women in terms of strength, employment, and career advancement, projecting an image of strength and thus assuming that men's health is not a problem. Consequently, people pay more attention to women's health. On the eve of my country's third "Men's Health Day," medical experts have called for greater attention to men's reproductive health, arguing that the situation is not optimistic and that society as a whole should show more concern for men's health.

The "First Asia-Pacific Andrology Forum" held recently in Shanghai revealed that the sperm count of adult men worldwide is currently half that of 100 years ago; and 40% of men around 50 years old suffer from varying degrees of prostate disease...

The reproductive health of men in my country is also a cause for concern. According to data, 25% of men in my country suffer from sexual dysfunction or psychological disorders, 10% of couples experience infertility, 6.5% of adult men suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, and AIDS has also become a threat to men's health. With the accelerated pace of life, increased competition, and environmental pollution from electromagnetic waves, radiation, and new materials in some emerging industries, men's reproductive health is deteriorating.

According to Professor Wang Yixin, director of the Shanghai Institute of Andrology, male diseases in Shanghai, including reproductive health issues, are increasingly affecting younger men. 52% of men over 40 years old experience erectile dysfunction, and many men experiencing menopausal symptoms, which typically appear after age 60, are beginning to appear around age 40 due to a partial deficiency of testosterone. In the late 1980s, the incidence of menopausal symptoms in men around 40 years old was only 0.8%, but it has now risen to 2.4%, more than doubling in just over a decade.

Professor Qian Shaozhen, President of the Asian Society for Andrology, said, "Male reproductive health not only involves men themselves, but also directly affects the relationship between husband and wife and family. We should truly recognize that men are half of humanity from the perspective of social stability and family harmony. In fact, men need more care than women, and the harm to men's reproductive health is no less than that of women." Xiao Hong, Director of the Shanghai Information Center for Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, "Because men play the role of 'backbone' in society, work, and family, the enormous psychological and work pressure can easily lead to reproductive health diseases. In addition, many men have a relatively weak awareness of health, so men's reproductive health is more vulnerable than women's, and men need more care than women."

The "First Asia-Pacific Andrology Forum," jointly organized by the Asian Society for Andrology, the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Asian Journal of Andrology, attracted experts and scholars from 29 countries and regions. From October 18th to 21st, they conducted in-depth discussions on cutting-edge topics in andrology, including male reproductive health, male contraception and infertility, male aging, germ cell and stem cell engineering, prostate diseases, male sexual dysfunction, spermatogenesis, and the role of androgens.

Excerpted from the Workers' Daily, October 29, 2002.