A dramatic decline
The researchers analyzed information from 185 studies consisting of 42,935 men.
They looked at men from primarily developed Western parts of the world, including the United States, Australia, and Europe, as well as other areas that included Asia, South America, and Africa.
The groups were divided into “unselected” men, such as college students or military recruits, who were unlikely to be aware of their fertility, and “fertile” men, who were known to have had children or impregnated women.
The data revealed that from 1973 to 2011 “unselected” men from Western countries had a 52 percent drop in sperm concentration — from 99 million per milliliter to 47 million per milliliter.
In addition, there was a 59 percent decrease in total sperm count, dropping from 337 million to 137 million.
The drop was so steep for Western men that the study authors wrote that new research is “urgently needed” to address the possible public health threat.
For fertile men from Western countries, and for both “unselected” and “fertile” men from non-Western countries, the drop was much less severe or nonexistent.
Levine said the study highlighted the need for more research on men’s issues with fertility. He pointed out that unlike other areas of medicine, men were not as well-studied as women for fertility problems.
“In fertility, men are neglected. This is a problem that we must prevent,” he said.
He pointed out there’s little concrete advice doctors can give to men with low sperm counts.
“We also need to put much more attention in this problem,” Levine said. “Especially when studies have shown that low sperm count is a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality.”
SOURCE: HEALTHLINE — Click here to keep reading…
