Pesticides, hormone-disrupting chemicals, diet, stress, smoking, and obesity have all been suggested as possible reasons behind the dramatic declines but experts say more research is urgently needed
Sperm counts have plunged by nearly 60 percent in just 40 years among men living in the West, according to a major review of scientific studies that suggest the modern world is causing serious damage to men’s health. Pesticides, hormone-disrupting chemicals, diet, stress, smoking, and obesity have all been “plausibly associated” with the problem, which is associated with a range of other illnesses such as testicular cancer and a generally increased mortality rate. The researchers who carried out the review said the rate of decline had shown no sign of “leveling off” in recent years.
