Doomsday warning as ‘alarming’ decline in sperm count ‘threatens mankind’s survival’

Dr Sarah Martins da Silva is a reproductive medicine expert from the University of Dundee who was not involved in the present study. The new findings, she said, “confirm that sperm counts are falling by around 1.1 percent per year, with an overall decline of 51.6 percent in 45 years.

“Of concern, the rate of decline has doubled since 2000. And we genuinely don’t know why. Exposure to pollution, plastics, smoking, drugs and prescribed medication, as well as lifestyle, such as obesity and poor diet, have all been suggested to be contributory factors although effects are poorly understood and ill-defined.

“Infertility is a global health problem. Despite an apparently booming population, one out of six couples are estimated to experience difficulties conceiving. Male fertility problems are increasingly common and account for almost half of all cases.

“This data represents the story of declining fertility rates. Critics of this study might cite that we count sperm differently to 40yrs ago, that microscopes are better and that they don’t believe the findings. But the numbers and consistent findings are difficult to ignore.

“All studies in this publication used the same way of counting sperm… and the authors only included published data for men with known fertility or unselected for fertility. Men that were infertile, taking medication or with medical conditions that may affect their fertility, smokers etc were all excluded.

“The conclusion is that sperm counts are falling. The human race is not at immediate risk of extinction but we really need research to understand why sperm counts are falling and to prevent other unintended implications for male health.”

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1698854/doomsday-sperm-count-decline-threaten-mankind-survival-experts-warn-mens-health