Diabetes and Infertility

Diabetes can become an obstacle to pregnancy and cause problems during pregnancy. This violation of carbohydrate metabolism negatively affects the reproductive function of both women and men.

Female infertility in diabetes mellitus

Insufficient control of the disease in the pre-puberty period can cause Moriac syndrome, one of the manifestations of which is primary amenorrhea (lack of menstruation). In less pronounced cases, there may be a later menerche (the first menstruation after 15 years) and a later ovulatory menstrual cycle (after 17 years).

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In the reproductive age, decompensation of diabetes mellitus can cause normogonadotropic anovulation in a woman, which is manifested by secondary amenorrhea or opsomenorrhea (an increase in the menstrual cycle to 35 days or more). Female infertility in diabetes can also be caused by an autoimmune lesion of the ovaries.

Hormonal ovarian insufficiency in women with type 2 diabetes is similar in its mechanism of development to polycystic ovary syndrome. The ovaries undergo cystic degeneration, against the background of increased androgen production, acne, excessive hair loss, and oily seborrhea occur.

Metabolic and endocrine disorders that occur in diabetes mellitus increase the risk of obstetric complications during pregnancy. Among them: preeclampsia and eclampsia, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, severe forms of gestosis, bleeding in the early postpartum period, etc.

Infertility in men with diabetes mellitus

With a violation of carbohydrate metabolism, male fertility suffers due to changes in the hormonal background, damage to peripheral nerves and blood vessels.

The causes of infertility in diabetes mellitus in men are as follows:

Deterioration of sperm quality

Diabetes and infertility are directly related, because diabetics have a higher number of sperm with DNA fragmentation, which are unsuitable for fertilizing an egg. In addition, against the background of carbohydrate metabolism disorders, men often develop hypogonadism, which also negatively affects the quality of sperm.

Retrograde ejaculation

Peripheral nerve damage in diabetes mellitus is one of the causes of infertility, since it disrupts the motility of the vas deferens and bladder. Due to a decrease in the tone of the sphincter during ejaculation, sperm is thrown into the man’s bladder.

Vasculogenic erectile dysfunction

With diabetes, blood clotting changes, microcirculation is disrupted, and atherosclerotic plaques clog the vessels. The blood supply of the penis is disturbed, the erection worsens. Sexual intercourse and, consequently, conception become impossible.

Diabetes can cause infertility in women and men. People who are prone to developing such a disease need to be more attentive to their health. And couples in which one or both spouses suffer from diabetes, it is necessary to take a more careful approach to pregnancy planning and be sure to consult not only with a gynecologist, but also with an andrologist for men), a reproductologist, an endocrinologist.