A Prospective Study of Male Depression, Psychotropic Medication Use, and Fecundability

We examined the associations of male depression and psychotropic medication use with fecundability in a North American preconception cohort study (2013–2020). Men aged ≥21 years completed a baseline questionnaire with questions on history of diagnosed depression, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), and psychotropic medication use. Pregnancy status was updated via bimonthly female follow-up questionnaires until pregnancy or 12 menstrual cycles, whichever occurred first. Analyses were restricted to 2,398 couples attempting conception for ≤6 menstrual cycles at entry. We fit proportional probabilities models to estimate fecundability ratios (FRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for age (male and female), education, (male and female), race/ethnicity, physical activity, alcohol intake, body mass index, smoking, and having previously impregnated a partner. Nearly 12% of participants reported a depression diagnosis; 90.6% had low depressive symptoms (MDI