Reproductive Health Problems in the Greater Athens Area

Abstract

SummaryA number of reproductive health parameters have been evaluated in people living in the Greater Athens area. These include: changes in important seminal characters of men investigated for subfertility, the ratio of male to female newborn infants delivered in a busy maternity hospital over a period of 35 years, the incidence of premature menopause in a large cohort of Athenian women investigated recently, public awareness of gonadal decline in ageing men and its importance in their well-being. The findings are: 1. A declining trend for seminal volume (p < 0.01) and sperm number (P < 0.001) was observed in a representative sample of 2385 Athenian men investigated during the period 1977 to 1993. 2. A decreasing trend in the ratio of male to female infants (P < 0.01) was documented in 221.799 births recorded during the period 1969-2003 in this hospital. 3. A higher incidence of perinatal care needs and raised in male newborns and more premature mortality in male neonates than in girls. 4. A high percentage of Athenian women (22.2%) who fail to reach the age of natural menopause, with 10.5% experiencing menopause before the age of 40 years. 5. A low public awareness of reproductive health problems in Athenian men over 50 years of age. Those, however, who were properly informed showed a better physical, mental and sexual activity. Overall the data show that certain aspects of reproductive health have markedly deteriorated during the last 2-3 decades the Greater Athens area. The implications of these findings justify important concerns on reproductive health in some agespecific groups in the area of Greek capital.