Older male age linked to lower IVF success mainly in older women
Among women 40 and older, a male partner five years older was linked to 0.78 times the adjusted odds of a live birth.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of couples undergoing IVF or ICSI
- What changed:
- Among women 40 and older, live-birth odds were lower with male partners five years older (adjusted odds ratio 0.78)
- The catch:
- Live births beyond the first five embryo transfer attempts were outside the assessed outcomes
- Why it’s aging research:
- Change across ages, or exceptional longevity.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Couples undergoing 22,013 first egg retrieval cycles at a specialist fertility center were included in a retrospective cohort study. The cycles took place from 2016 to 2024 and used women’s own eggs and non-donor sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or sperm injection into an egg. The researchers assessed live births within three embryo transfer attempts from one retrieval.
Male age was not associated with live-birth chances among women under 40. Among women 40 and older, greater male age was associated with lower live-birth odds. The analysis accounted for infertility-related factors, fertilization method and female body mass index, a measure of weight relative to height. Results were consistent when the researchers counted up to five embryo transfer attempts.
Why it matters
For couples seeking assisted reproduction as they age, the findings support considering both partners’ ages together when discussing their chances of a live birth.
Caveats
Other differences between couples with older and younger male partners may have contributed to the association. The findings came from assisted reproduction at one fertility center, not couples trying to conceive without assistance.
The paper
Couple age interaction and cumulative live birth rate after IVF/ICSI: a large cohort study
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology; Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Reproductive Biomedicine Online, Oct 7, 2026
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