{
  "abstract": "Objectives The reproductive health of men with inflammatory joint disease (IJD) has been a topic of debate in recent years, due to conflicting findings in existing research. In this study, we investigated childlessness and number of children per man, according to the joint diseases psoriatic arthritis (PsA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and axial spondylarthritis (axSpA). Furthermore, we studied the timing of fathering and risk factors associated with childlessness.Methods This is a nationwide, population-based cohort study. Male patients aged 25–65 years with PsA (n=2649), RA (n=1716) and axSpA (n=2766) from the Norwegian Arthritis Registry were individually matched 1:5 with men without IJDs obtained from the National Population Register (n=35 655). Information on children was obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Fertility rates were compared between the patient/IJD groups and matched controls.Results In all IJD groups, fewer men were childless compared with the control groups (p<0.001). Similarly, the mean number of children per man was higher in all diagnostic groups, and this difference was evident before the IJD diagnosis (p<0.001). AxSpA patients had a slightly higher proportion of childless men compared with patients with PsA (p<0.001). Also, men with IJD were younger than the respective controls when fathering for the first time (p<0.001).Conclusion This large nationwide study revealed that men with PsA, RA and axSpA were less childless compared with the general population, a difference that occurred before the onset of the IJD. These findings are novel, suggesting a notable difference in fertility patterns between those with and without IJDs.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway",
        "Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Gudrun David Sigmo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland Universitetssjukehus, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Solveig Hauge"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Section of Biostatistics, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Hanne Brit Hetland"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Instutute of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian Univ Sci, Trondheim, Norway",
        "Norwegian National Network of Pregnancy and Rheumatic Diseases. Dept of Rheumatology, St Olavs Hospital Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Marianne Wallenius"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Maria Boge Lauvsnes"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway",
        "Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St Olavs Hospital Universitetssykehuset i Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Kjell Åsmund Salvesen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Health Registry Research and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway",
        "Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Anne Kjersti Daltveit"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway",
        "Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Gunnstein Bakland"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway",
        "Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland Universitetssjukehus, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Bjørg-Tilde Svanes Fevang"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Men with psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and axial spondylarthritis have more children and at an earlier age than matched controls: results from a nationwide cohort",
  "uid": "d70f5989-8464-5916-b5fb-216357ed3ca2"
}