Table 4. – Ankylosing spondylitis and male fertility.

Author	Year	Study Population	Results	Conclusion
Gordon et al. (21)	1986	31 patients with RA, 33 with AS patients and 95 normal controls	Normal testosterone / Normal FSH and LH levels / 13% impotence / 39% decreased libido	AS may affect libido and erectile function / No impact in testicular function
Paschou et al. (7)	2009	4 patients treated with infliximab	All patients had fathered at least one child	AS patients treated with anti-TNF seem not to suffer infertility issues
Nukumizu et al. (23)	2012	20 patients with AS and 24 healthy controls	40% of AS patients had varicocele and was associated to teratospermia	Varicocele is frequent in AS and may affect sperm morphology impairing fertility
Almeida et al. (22)	2013	20 patients with AS and 24 healthy controls	Normal sex hormones levels, including inhibin B / Normal seminal parameters	Sertoli cell function was not affected by AS or by anti-TNF therapy

Note: RA = rheumathoid arthritis; AS = ankylosing spondylitis; TNF = tumor necrosing factor.