FERTILITY AND SEMEN QUALITY IN PREVIOUSLY GROWTH HORMONE TREATED MEN

Abstract

32 men aged 20-35 years (median 27.3 years) who were treated in childhood or adolescence with growth hormone participated in the study. Sixteen had isolated growth hormone deficiency and 16 panhypopituitarism with insufficiency of two or more pituitary hormones including growth hormone. All patients were adequately hormone substituted except growth hormone. They were all interviewed. Only one patient, a man aged 27 with partial growth hormone deficiency, had fathered a child. Seven of ten patients with ‘complete growth hormone deficiency’ (<3.0 ng/ml) were asked to deliver seminal fluid by masturbation. None had normal spermiograms. Four patients with panhypopituitarism had very low volume of seminal fluid (< 1 ml) and azoospermia, whereas three patients with isolated growth hormone deficiency showed moderate impairment of the spermiogram including abnormal motility.Thus, the majority of men with growth hormone deficiency may have dysfunction of the reproductive system.