Male Reproductive Senescence

Over the past few years, couples have tended to delay parenthood for a variety of reasons. While a large amount of information has been gathered about the consequences of advanced maternal age on fertility and on the health of their offspring, much less is known about the effects of paternal aging. In this article, we highlight what is known about male reproductive senescence. The gradual declining functions of the male reproductive organs and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary–gonadal axis with aging are described, as well as their consequences on semen parameters. The loss of sperm DNA integrity and the increased risks of genetic diseases in the offspring of older men are also discussed.