ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Andrology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frph.2025.1697925
Trends in Male Infertility Burden in South Asia: A 30-Year Analysis of DALYs, Prevalence, and Future Projections Based on GBD 2021
Provisionally accepted
Kaleem Maqsood1
Tahir Mehmood2Humayoun Huma Maqbool3
Ali Afzal4Muhammad Faisal Maqbool3Mahnoor Fatima5Tayyba Jan6Samina Ashraf3
Muhammad Babar Khawar1*
Chatchai Muanprasat2- 1Yangzhou University Medical College, Yangzhou, China
- 2Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand
- 3University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
- 4University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- 5Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, Lahore, Pakistan
- 6Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Purpose: Male infertility is an increasingly recognized global public health issue. Despite its impact, comprehensive assessments of long-term trends and regional disparities remain limited. Our study focuses on evaluating global and regional trends, particularly in South Asia, in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and prevalence of male infertility, and forecasting future patterns. Methods: Data from GBD 2021 were analyzed for the period 1990–2021 to assess trends in DALYs and prevalence. Estimated Annual Percentage Change (EAPC) was used to quantify changes over time. The ARIMA model was applied to forecast future prevalence and Disability-Adjusted Life Years trends in South Asia. Results: Globally, Disability-Adjusted Life Years due to male infertility increased by 17.79% (EAPC 0.51%), and prevalence rose by 16.90% (EAPC 0.50%). South Asia showed a higher burden, with Disability-Adjusted Life Years increasing by 45.66% (EAPC 1.40%) and prevalence by 47.19% (EAPC 1.50%). India showed the greatest rise, with Disability-Adjusted Life Years and prevalence increasing by 55.87% and 58.82%, respectively. The most affected age group was 25–29 years. A positive association was observed between male infertility burden and Sociodemographic Index (SDI) values across South Asia. Forecasts predict a continued rise in prevalence, while Disability-Adjusted Life Years may slightly decline by 2030. Conclusion: Male infertility is increasing worldwide, with South Asia experiencing the most pronounced burden. While rising trends suggest improved detection, healthcare inequalities persist. Targeted interventions are essential to mitigate the growing impact of male infertility in the region.
Keywords: male infertility, Disability-adjusted life years, Prevalence, South Asia, Globalburden of disease
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 13 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Maqsood, Mehmood, Maqbool, Afzal, Maqbool, Fatima, Jan, Ashraf, Khawar and Muanprasat. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Muhammad Babar Khawar, babarkhawar@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.