Men’s Preconception Health and Fertility Intentions: A Latent Class Analysis Approach

Men’s pregnancy intention is associated with a host of positive outcomes for families, yet this topic remains understudied. Because unintended pregnancies are more likely to occur at suboptimal parental health, this study aimed to examine the extent to which men improve their preconception health in the context of future fertility planning. This study used pooled data from the 2011–2019 National Survey of Family Growth for a final sample size of 10,223. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify distinct classes of men’s preconception health. Eight preconception health risk factors were used to determine class membership. A classify-analyze approach was used to create the preconception health phenotype (PhP) exposure variable. The outcome of interest was men’s fertility intentions. Multinomial regression models were used to examine the association between the exposure and the outcome. Three unique PhPs were identified (lowest risk, substance users, and sexual risk-takers) from the LCA model. Men in the substance users’ group (22.9%) were characterized by high-risk alcohol use and drug use, while sexual risk-takers (8.1%) were characterized by having multiple sexual partners. Belonging in the phenotypes of substance users or sexual risk-takers was associated with increased odds for definite no fertility intention than definite yes intentions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.18, 1.84] and aOR: 1.51, 95% CI: [1.13, 2.01], respectively). Results provide new insights on how preconception health can be measured and fills a knowledge gap on its relationship to men’s future fertility planning. Findings can be applied to preconception care intervention frameworks, and guide family planning interventions and contraceptive counseling.