A 16-year overview of vasectomy and vasectomy reversal in the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: There is no current research to explain the trends in vasectomy and vasectomy reversals in the United Kingdom, leaving little understanding of the social phenomena involved. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide an overview of vasectomy as a main method (or primary method) of contraception and vasectomy reversals among men in the United Kingdom aged >16 years. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive statistics were generated from the National Health Service's publicly accessible datasets from 2004/2005 to 2019/2020, including data from 1,621,105 men. RESULTS: Although men are increasing their use of contraceptive services, the number of men having vasectomies and vasectomy reversals has decreased significantly. CONCLUSION: The researchers propose that more rigorous techniques for capturing data are required to understand vasectomy in the United Kingdom. There is also an urgent need for research on vasectomy in the United Kingdom and globally, not only to explain the behavioral trends found in this study, but also to explain the global trend.