Using information from the National Survey for Family Growth (NSFG) from 2002 to 2017 the authors performed univariate and multivariate analyses on demographic and health data.
The National Center for Health Statistics has been conducting the NSFG every 3-7 years since 1973. Information is acquired through in person structured interviews. Participants are recruited from 110 diverse sampling sites throughout the US with deliberate oversampling of African Americans, Hispanics and teenagers.
A total of 10317 men met inclusion criteria for the study of which 9421 were known to be fertile and 896 had undergone vasectomy.
Results showed that men who underwent vasectomy were more likely to: be older, be healthier, have more children, identify as non-Hispanic white, be married, have a higher level of education, earn a higher mean household income and be more likely to be privately insured than non-sterilized fertile men. Also, on multivariate analysis, men who underwent vasectomy had a better health status despite being older.
MY EXPERIENCE
I have been performing vasectomy in the state of New Jersey for over 25 years. During that time, I have seen changes in the ethnic make-up of my patients; however, these may simply be reflective of the state where I practice. Currently, I do not believe there is any background exclusive to or of vasectomy: In my practice, I have performed vasectomies on patients originally from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador, Canada, France, England, Ireland, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Armenia, Brazil, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, China, Japan, Philippines and more. Occupations of my patients include lawyers, bankers, clergy, gardeners, teachers, construction workers, maintenance workers, people in the tech industry, etc. Although the overwhelming majority of my patients do have insurance, there has been a gradually increasing percentage of “self-Pay” patients over the 25 years. Motivation for vasectomy includes financial considerations as well as consideration for the health and welfare of their female partners, given concerns over side effects of oral contraceptives, risks of IUDs and or previous history of a high-risk pregnancy. Finally, although this also remains a small portion of the population I care for, I have also seen an increase in the number of men who choose not to father a child. I believe all these changes to be reflective of the society in which we live and also reflective of a greater acceptance of the vasectomy procedure itself.
