Skip to main content
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1984 Feb;74(2):128–132. doi: 10.2105/ajph.74.2.128

Long-term effect of vasectomy on coronary heart disease.

E B Perrin, J S Woods, T Namekata, J Yagi, R A Bruce, V Hofer
PMCID: PMC1651398  PMID: 6691522

Abstract

We investigated the association between coronary heart disease (CHD) and vasectomy in a population of 10,632 men who were under surveillance for multiple CHD risk factors during participation in a university-based exercise testing program. We conducted a mail survey with telephone follow-up to determine the vasectomy status of individuals in the population. Responses were obtained from 6,159 individuals. The 4.944 males on whom information was complete enough to be included in the multivariate analysis comprised the study population. Among the 1,383 (28 per cent) vasectomized males in the study populations, the interval from vasectomy to the time of the survey ranged from less than one year to 37 years with a mean duration of 15 years. Although increased relative risks for CHD were found to be associated with family history of CHD, high blood pressure and smoking in this population, the relative risk of CHD associated with vasectomy was not increased in general, nor was it increased when the vasectomized males were classified by time since vasectomy. Likewise, serum antisperm-antibody titers were not predictive of CHD among vasectomized men. These studies support the findings from previous investigations of populations with shorter average post-vasectomy experience in which vasectomy has been shown to be unassociated with altered risk of CHD in humans.

Full text

PDF
128

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alexander N. J., Anderson D. J. Vasectomy: consequences of autoimmunity to sperm antigens. Fertil Steril. 1979 Sep;32(3):253–260. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)44228-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Alexander N. J., Clarkson T. B. Vasectomy increases the severity of diet-induced atherosclerosis in Macaca fascicularis. Science. 1978 Aug 11;201(4355):538–541. doi: 10.1126/science.96532. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Alexander N. J., Senner J. W., Hoch E. J. Evaluation of blood pressure in vasectomized and nonvasectomized men. Int J Epidemiol. 1981 Sep;10(3):217–222. doi: 10.1093/ije/10.3.217. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Alexander N. J., Wilson B. J., Patterson G. D. Vasectomy: immunologic effects in rhesus monkeys and men. Fertil Steril. 1974 Feb;25(2):149–156. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ansbacher R. Sperm-agglutinating and sperm-immobilizing antibodies in vasectomized men. Fertil Steril. 1971 Oct;22(10):629–632. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bruce R. A., Gey G. O., Jr, Cooper M. N., Fisher L. D., Peterson D. R. Seattle Heart Watch: initial clinical, circulatory and electrocardiographic responses to maximal exercise. Am J Cardiol. 1974 Apr;33(4):459–469. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(74)90602-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bruce R. A., Hossack K. F., Belanger L., DeRouen T. A., Sobolewski J. S., Hofer V., Holzman T. A computer terminal program to evaluate cardiovascular functional limits and estimate coronary event risks. West J Med. 1981 Oct;135(4):342–350. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Clarkson T. B., Alexander N. J. Long-term vasectomy: effects on the occurrence and extent of atherosclerosis in rhesus monkeys. J Clin Invest. 1980 Jan;65(1):15–25. doi: 10.1172/JCI109645. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Friberg J. A simple and sensitive micro-method for demonstration of sperm-agglutinating activity in serum from infertile men and women. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand Suppl. 1974;36:21–29. doi: 10.3109/00016347409156399. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Goldacre M. J., Clarke J. A., Heasman M. A., Vessey M. P. Follow-up of vasectomy using medical record linkage. Am J Epidemiol. 1978 Sep;108(3):176–180. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112609. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hopkins P. N., Williams R. R. A survey of 246 suggested coronary risk factors. Atherosclerosis. 1981 Aug-Sep;40(1):1–52. doi: 10.1016/0021-9150(81)90122-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. MANTEL N., HAENSZEL W. Statistical aspects of the analysis of data from retrospective studies of disease. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1959 Apr;22(4):719–748. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Petitti D. B., Klein R., Kipp H., Kahn W., Siegelaub A. B., Friedman G. D. A survey of personal habits, symptoms of illness, and histories of disease in man with and without vasectomies. Am J Public Health. 1982 May;72(5):476–480. doi: 10.2105/ajph.72.5.476. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Petitti D. B., Klein R., Kipp H., Kahn W., Siegelaub A. B., Friedman G. D. Physiologic measures in men with and without vasectomies. Fertil Steril. 1982 Mar;37(3):438–440. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rimm A. A., Hoffmann R. G., Anderson A. J., Gruchow H. W., Barboriak J. J. The relationship between vasectomy and angiographically determined atherosclerosis in men. Prev Med. 1983 Mar;12(2):262–273. doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(83)90235-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shulman S., Zappi E., Ahmed U., Davis J. E. Immunologic consequences of vasectomy. Contraception. 1972 Apr;5(4):269–278. doi: 10.1016/0010-7824(72)90066-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Verheugt F. W., Tijssen J. G., Boerma G. J., Maksimovic P., Miranda S. I. Vasectomy and cholesterol. N Engl J Med. 1981 Aug 20;305(8):462–462. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Walker A. M., Jick H., Hunter J. R., Danford A., Rothman K. J. Hospitalization rates in vasectomized men. JAMA. 1981 Jun 12;245(22):2315–2317. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES