THURSDAY, Aug. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Vasectomies have gotten more common in america, with rates surging by greater than one-quarter through the past decade, a recent study reveals.
The U.S. vasectomy rate increased by 26% between 2014 and 2021, in line with an evaluation of business health claims data.
“All areas in america except the Northeast showed increased vasectomy rates,” said senior researcher Dr. Omer Raheem. He’s an assistant professor of surgery-urology with the University of Chicago School of Medicine.
Overall numbers remain low, with roughly 4% of men having undergone vasectomy, the researchers noted.
But doctors expect the demand for vasectomy will proceed to extend following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that abolished the national right to abortion.
“After the Roe v Wade overturn, there was a major increase in Google searches for vasectomy, in addition to an uptick in vasectomy consultations and procedures,” said Dr. Stanton Honig, division chief for reproductive and sexual medicine at Yale School of Medicine, in Latest Haven, Conn.
“This recent study points to the undeniable fact that men are taking more of a task in reproductive health and family planning, especially after they are finished having children,” continued Honig, who was not involved with the brand new research.
For the study, Raheem and his colleagues gathered medical insurance claims data to calculate the annual vasectomy rate amongst privately insured men in america, aged 18 to 64.
The share of all male patients undergoing vasectomies in a given yr increased from about 0.43% in 2014 to 0.54% in 2021, the investigators found.
The relative increases were best in men with no children (61%), men with an older wife (41%), single men (41%), and young men 18 to 24 (37%).
Vasectomy also remained a well-liked option for men with two or more children, the outcomes showed.
Rural areas experienced greater increases in vasectomy rates than urban areas, the researchers added.
“Given the political landscape, some men are leaning in and taking more responsibility to forestall unintended pregnancy,” said Dr. Monica Dragoman, system director of the complex family planning division within the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Latest York City.
“The explanations are deeply personal and multifactorial, but motivations can include concerns for his or her partner and fear about having kids they don’t want,” Dragoman said. “Unfortunately, there are few highly effective methods aside from vasectomy available to men.”
One reason for the uptick likely is that vasectomies have change into really easy to undergo, Honig said.
“A vasectomy is a minimally invasive, office-based procedure and takes about 10 minutes to perform. The patient walks out and in, because it is completed under local anesthesia,” Honig said.
Vasectomies are also increasingly seen as reversible procedures, Raheem added.
“With the surge of vasectomies, we also see a surge, not mirror image, but we also saw a surge of vasectomy reversals,” Raheem said. “I expect to see more men asking for reversal of vasectomies in years to return.”
Nonetheless, Dragoman warned that men shouldn’t count on a simple reversal, particularly in the event that they’ve had their vasectomy for some time.
“Following vasectomy, successful pregnancy following a reversal is a possibility. Nonetheless, this likelihood decreases over time and there isn’t a guarantee of pregnancy,” Dragoman said. “People pursuing vasectomy with the concept that they may reverse after they are ready for childbearing are probably not the fitting candidates for the procedure.”
Vasectomy has change into a typical enough procedure that there are even awareness campaigns for it timed across the March Madness basketball tournament, Raheem noted.
“Because men are watching TV, they’ve more rest time, in order that they decide to have it done around March Madness,” Raheem said.
The variety of vasectomies might have been even greater through the time period in query, Raheem said, except that there’s a nationwide shortage of urologists available to offer counseling and perform the procedure.
“I feel it’s essential for us as we plan ahead for the subsequent years to return to pay attention to these trends of vasectomy nationally and be more proactive about offering vasectomy counseling and services to fulfill this growing need for patients,” Raheem said.
Despite this increase, nonetheless, tubal ligation in women stays more popular than vasectomies in men, Honig and Dragoman noted.
“Everyone seems to be feeling the impact of abortion restrictions. On one hand, I feel it’s a positive thing that some men are being more proactive about pregnancy prevention,” Dragoman said.
“Nonetheless, this method stays underutilized in comparison with everlasting female contraception, even with relative increases in demand for the procedure,” she continued. “It can be interesting to see if short-term trends translate to long-term changes in how men take part in sharing contraceptive responsibilities.”
The brand new study was published recently within the journal Urology.
More information
Planned Parenthood has more about vasectomy.
SOURCES: Omer Raheem, MD, assistant professor, surgery-urology, University of Chicago School of Medicine; Stanton Honig, MD, division chief, reproductive and sexual medicine, Yale School of Medicine, Latest Haven, Conn.; Monica Dragoman, MD, MPH, system director, Complex Family Planning Division, Raquel and Jaime Gilinski department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Latest York City; Urology, June 21, 2023