Fertility

The Children of Men

 

Research indicates a decline in male sperm count and quality in the West.

USA Today (7/25, Weintraub) reports that research published in Human Reproduction Update indicated that “men in North America, Australia and Europe produced less than half as many sperm in 2011 compared with 1973.” The study also indicated that “the quality was worse.”

        In “To Your Health,” the Washington Post (7/25, Cha) reports that the study “appears to confirm fears that male reproductive health may be declining.” For the study, investigators looked at “data from 185 studies and 42,000 men around the world between 1973 and 2011.”

        Reuters (7/25, Kelland) reports that the researchers found “a 52.4 percent decline in sperm concentration and a 59.3 percent decline in total sperm count among North American, European, Australian and New Zealand men.”

        Newsweek (7/25, Gaffey) reports that while the investigators did not see “a similar decline in non-Western men – those from Africa, Asia and South America,” they “admitted that this absence of a trend may be due to a lack of data.”

        The New York Post (7/25, Gollayan) reports that although additional research is required “to determine causation,” investigators “think that our lifestyle choices (smoking, stress and obesity) may be to blame for the drop in sperm count.” Also covering the story are the Independent (UK) (7/25, Johnston), The Guardian (UK) (7/25, Davis), Medscape (7/25, Frellick), HealthDay (7/25, Thompson), TIME (7/25, Sifferlin), and BBC News (UK) (7/25).

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Historically these declines were attributed to sampling errors. Note there is no indicator here in decline in fertility, but.....