Vasectomy and Health
Results From a Large Cohort Study
- Frank J. Massey Jr, PhD;
- Gerald S. Bernstein, PhD, MD;
- William M. O'Fallon, PhD;
- Leonard M. Schuman, MD, MS;
- Anne H. Coulson;
- Ruth Crozier, MA;
- Jack S. Mandel, PhD;
- Robert B. Benjamin, MD;
- Heinz W. Berendes, MD, MHS;
- Potter C. Chang, PhD;
- Roger Detels, MD, MS;
- Richard F. Emslander, MD;
- James Korelitz, PhD;
- Leonard T. Kurland, MD, DrPH;
- Irwin H. Lepow, MD, PhD;
- Douglas D. McGregor, MD, DPhil;
- Robert N. Nakamura, PhD;
- Jose Quiroga, MD;
- Stanwood Schmidt, MD;
- Gary H. Spivey, MD, MPH;
- Timothy Sullivan, MD
- From the School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles (Drs Massey, Chang, Detels, Quiroga, and Spivey and Ms Coulson); the Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology (Drs O'Fallon and Kurland), the Department of Internal Medicine (Dr Emslander), the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (Drs Bernstein, Nakamura, and Korelitz); the Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (Dr Schmidt); the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota (Drs Schuman and Mandel), the Department of Surgery (Dr Benjamin), St Louis Park Medical Center, Minneapolis; the Department of Internal Medicine, Health Science Center, Dallas (Dr Sullivan); the James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (Dr McGregor); the Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute, Rensselaer, NY (Dr Lepow); and the Center for Population Research (Ms Crozier), the Epidemiology and Biometry Research Program (Dr Berendes), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Md.
Abstract
In this historical cohort study we identified, located, and, if living, interviewed 10,590 vasectomized men from four cities, along with a paired neighborhood control for each. The times between procedure data and interview or death ranged from under one to 41 years, with median equal to 7.9 years and with 2,318 pairs having ten or more years of follow-up. Participant reports of diseases or conditions that might possibly be related to vasectomy through an immunopathological mechanism were validated by direct contact with physicians and review of medical records. Results of this study do not support the suggestions of immunopathological consequences of vasectomy within the period of follow-up. Except for epididymitis-orchitis, the incidence of diseases for vasectomized men was similar or lower than for their paired controls.
(JAMA 1984;252:1023-1029)
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024 (Dr Massey).
