Male infertility rate on the rise

More Korean men in their late 30s and early 40s are hit by infertility, data showed Sunday.

According to the National Health Insurance Service’s statistics, the number of male patients receiving infertility treatment jumped to around 190,000 last year, up 4.2 percent from 2008.

The age group between late 30s and early 40s saw an increase of 16.2 percent, the highest among the surveyed.

By gender, female infertility cases rose by 2.5 percent while those for male sufferers surged by nearly 12 percent.

Work-related stress and late marriage are suspected to be the major causes, experts said.

(rene@heraldcorp.com)