A new study from the NIH shows that, among those couples being treated for infertility, men with major depression were 60% less likely to conceive with their partner.
The interesting thing? Women with major depression were no more or less likely to conceive.
However, women who used a type of antidepressant called non-SSRI’s (as opposed to the popular SSRI’s) were 3.5 times more likely to have a first trimester pregnancy loss.
The key thing to note is that this study looks at couples who are specifically being treated for infertility.
However, elsewhere, studies have shown that stress can affect male fertility, even in those not being treated for infertility.
Men who experienced two or more stressful life events in the past year had a lower percentage of sperm motility and a lower percentage of sperm of normal morphology, compared with men who did not experience any stressful life events.
Guys, it’s important for you to get help with stress.
So many men reel at the idea, because of cultural perceptions that men are supposed to be beacons of strength.
Well, yes, be strong and admit you’re weak, and get help.
The fact of the matter is that men have lower rates of anxiety and depression mainly because they’re much less likely to seek help for it than women. Thus, it’s likely underrreported. And that’s probably not because of a lower rate. 28% of men say they refuse to seek help for their anxiety, while only 19% of women say the same.
But that pride is dangerous.
“Men may be more likely to suffer in silence or try to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs,” says Dean F. MacKinnon, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Men may see their symptoms as a sign of weakness, he explains, likening the situation to the idea that men don’t like asking for directions.
