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Human male sperm Credit: Wikipedia

Oh no... Back in 2017 a large study found that male sperm counts had dropped over 50% since the 1970s in North America, Europe, and Australia. Declining every year, year after year, for over 40 years. This has serious implications for fertility - if sperm counts drop too low, it's very difficult to conceive a baby.

Now those same researchers have published data from 53 countries showing that the sperm count decline is also occurring in Asia, South America, and Africa. And that the decline in male sperm counts is actually accelerating in North America and Europe. Yikes!

Note that this is in men who weren't being screened for fertility problems issues. In other words, random healthy men. Some had already fathered a baby.

Globally, the decline was about 1.16% per year from 1973 to 2018 (resulting in a 52% decline). When the researchers reexamined the data and looked at many more studies, they realized that since 2000 the decline accelerated at 2.64% per year.

Average global sperm concentration was 49 million per milliliter of semen in 2018. The researcher Dr. Swan pointed out that when sperm count drops below roughly 45 million per milliliter, the ability to cause a pregnancy begins to plummet dramatically, and at 40 million and lower the chances of conception are very low without reproductive assistance (e.g., IVF).

Interestingly, sperm counts are not just a male fertility issue, but also an indicator of men's health. Low levels of sperm are associated with increased risk of chronic disease, testicular cancer, and a shorter lifespan. With a decline in sperm numbers there is also a decline in testosterone and male genital anomalies - thus a decline in male reproductive health.

Why is this happening? Several possibilities are probably contributing: mainly lifestyle and also all the chemicals and plastics in our lives (environmental chemical exposure). Endocrine disruptors, phthalates, pesticides! Yes, they are all around us - in the air, the water, consumer products, and our bodies.

Some examples: pesticides, flame retardants, stain and water resistant products. Plastics leach and outgas and we get them into us various ways (skin, inhale them, ingest them in our foods and water). List of ways to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE SPERM COUNT AND HEALTH:

Lifestyle: Don't smoke. Don't drink or drink very little. Don't do drugs. Don't sit in hot tubs or saunas. Get exercise or physical activity. Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts. Avoid canned foods, minimize fast food take-out. Eat as much organic as possible. Lose weight, if needed.

Chemical exposure: We can't totally avoid all the chemicals, but we can minimize our exposure. For starters, stop using non-stick cookware, avoid pesticides in the home and yard (look for nontoxic alternatives and view weeds as wildflowers), don't use dryer sheets, buy unscented products (and avoid fragrances). List of ways to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.

From Science Daily: Significant decline in sperm counts globally, including Latin America, Asia and Africa, follow-up study shows

An international team led by Professor Hagai Levine of Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Hadassah Braun School of Public Health, with Prof. Shanna Swan at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, along with researchers in Denmark, Brazil, Spain, Israel and the USA, published the first meta-analysis to demonstrate declining sperm counts among men from South and Central America, Asia and Africa. ...continue reading "Sperm Counts Are Still Dropping Throughout the World"

Sperm quality and sperm count is diminished for months after an unvaccinated man is infected with COVID-19. Yikes!

A study conducted by a team of Belgian researchers analyzed samples of sperm from 120 unvaccinated men (average age 35 years) in the first two months after they had recovered from COVID-19 infection. They found that in the first month after infection 37% of the men had reduced sperm counts and 60% had reduced sperm motility (how sperm moves). Over time there was improvement, but even after 2 months sperm count was lower in 6% and reduced sperm motility in 28%.

The only good news was that there was no evidence of the virus in the semen - which means that the semen isn't infectious after recovery. By the way, severity of the infection (with symptoms, including fever) did not correlate with the effects on sperm.

The researchers felt that by 3 months the sperm should be back to normal, but they are also doing a follow-up study to confirm this.

Bottom line: The first 2 months after COVID-19 infection is not the time to try to conceive a baby (due to suboptimal sperm). The study results are also a good argument for getting vaccinated!

From Medscape: Sperm Count, Motility May Be Low for Months After COVID-19

Sperm quality is impaired for months in some men after recovery from COVID-19, researchers have found. ...continue reading "COVID-19 Has An Effect On Sperm Quality"

Human sperm. Credit: Wikipedia

Back in 2017 the world was shocked by a major study that focused on dropping sperm counts in men living in Western countries - a drop of over 50% in 4 decades, or about 1% per year. Along with an increase in infertility. If the drop in sperm counts continues at its current pace, it ultimately means that humans soon will not be able to reproduce. Worse case scenario: extinction of humans.

Dr. Shanna Swan, who an author of the study, has a just published an excellent eye-opening book about this topic. The cause for these sperm count drops and increasing infertility are the hormone (endocrine) disrupting chemicals in everyday products all around us. In plastics, in many pesticides, in personal care products, in our foods (from the packaging)... Yes, all around us. It turns out these chemicals have all sorts of harmful health effects, not just lowering of sperm counts and increasing infertility. [see below]

Good news: we can't escape all the harmful chemicals around us, but we can really decrease our exposures and so decrease the levels of these chemicals in our bodies. And it's better for our health! For tips on ways to reduce your exposures and the levels of harmful chemicals in your body - see Avoiding Harmful Chemicals.

The highly recommended book is written by Shanna Swan, PhD and Stacey Colino: Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race. Scribner, 2020. With many pages of references at the end.

An interesting short interview with Dr. Shanna Swan. From The Intercept: TOXIC CHEMICALS THREATEN HUMANITY’S ABILITY TO REPRODUCE

..a book that ties industrial chemicals in everyday products to a wide range of changes taking place in recent years, including increasing numbers of babies born with smaller penises; higher rates of erectile dysfunction; declining fertility; eroding sex differences in some animal species; and potentially even behaviors that are thought of as gender-typical.

Excerpts by Shanna Swan and Stacey Colino's piece from Scientific American: Reproductive Problems in Both Men and Women Are Rising at an Alarming Rate

When you see or hear a reference to “the 1 percent,” most people think of socioeconomic status—the people with the top 1 percent of wealth or income in the United States, which is how the term is commonly used in our culture.

Not us, though.  ...continue reading "A New Book Discusses Falling Sperm Counts and The Chemicals Around Us"

There is much concern nowadays about all the many chemicals we are exposed to in our lives. These include pesticides, heavy metals (e.g. lead, mercury), and chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors (hormone disrupting chemicals), such as BPA and phthalates. These chemicals are all around us and are linked to all sorts of health effects, including chronic diseases and reproductive effects - such as infertility, declining sperm counts, adverse effects on the developing baby, and endometriosis.

There is an excellent 7 part series of webinars that one can watch called Generation Chemical: How Environmental Exposures are Affecting Reproductive Health and Development. Big names in the field discuss the latest science on the impact of harmful chemicals and pollutants on female and male reproductive health, pregnancy, and development, starting from preconception and through  life.

Yes, it's in depth, but also eye-opening. For example, the evidence is now raising the questions: Are fertile people healthier? Does poor sperm quality mean poorer health? Or earlier death? Research suggests that sperm count and quality are "canaries in the coal mine" for male health - evidence of harm to men from environmental and lifestyle influences.

Also, keep in mind that while you can't totally avoid harmful chemicals, you can really minimize your exposure and the levels measured in you. Avoiding Harmful Chemicals gives good ways to reduce exposures to harmful chemicals. This is especially important for both males and females if thinking about conception or pregnant.

SEVEN PART WEBINAR SERIES: 1) Introduction. Oct. 29, 2020. Discussed declining sperm counts that have been occurring worldwide over the last few decades - 52.4% decline in 38 years among men from Western countries, and the decline is still continuing. Effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on men's and women's fertility, conception delay, pregnancy loss, some diseases, and endometriosis. ...continue reading "Top Scientists Explain How Harmful Chemicals Are Affecting Reproductive Health and Development"

Reading the following study, I thought to myself - OK, once again someone is testing a supplement, but generally studies find that supplements don't do as well as real, actual foods in whatever is being tested. In this case, a supplement containing lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, was tested by researchers in the UK to see if it would help with sperm quality in men. Other studies have found dietary lycopene to have health benefits (e.g. lower incidence of lethal prostate cancer), which is among the reasons the researchers focused on testing it for semen quality.

The study design was nice - with 60 young healthy men randomly assigned to one of 2 groups - the supplement group and the placebo group, and no one knew who was assigned to which group (double blind). They took either the lycopene supplement (14 mg/d of lactolycopene, equivalent to 2 kg of cooked tomatoes)  or a placebo for 12 weeks. They found changes in sperm quality after the 12 weeks, with significant improvement in the proportion of "fast progressive sperm" and normally shaped sperm (morphology). However, "motile sperm concentration" (the number of moving sperm) did not improve - and this is considered the main measure associated with chance of conception. So it is unknown how the 2 things that improved would affect fertility.

Bottom line: Studies find numerous health benefits from diets rich in fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes and other red foods, such as watermelon, papaya, and pink grapefruit. And yes - ketchup is a good source. Apparently more lycopene is bioavailable when tomatoes are cooked or processed, especially when cooked in oil (as compared to raw tomatoes). And when eating fruits and vegetables, try to eat as many that are organically grown, because eating fruits and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residues has a negative effect on sperm quality.

From Science Daily: Dietary supplement from tomatoes discovered to boost sperm quality  ...continue reading "Lycopene In Tomatoes and Sperm Quality"

Two years ago scientists reported an alarming and steep decline in sperm counts in men from Western industrialized countries over the last 40 years. Both sperm count and sperm concentration declined 50 to 60% in this period in men in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Especially concerning was that there was no evidence of this year by year decline leveling off.

What does this mean? As these declines continue, more and more men will have sperm counts below the point at which they can reproduce. Instead they will be infertile or "sub-fertile" (fertilization is unlikely). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a sperm count of below 15 million per ml makes a man subfertile. However, also of concern is the threshold level associated with a "decreased monthly probability of conception", which is 40 million/ml - which means conception will take significantly longer (due to impaired ability to fertilize an egg).

A recent Univ. of Geneva study looked at semen quality of 2523 young men (aged 18 to 22 years old) who were being drafted into the military in Switzerland. They found that average sperm quality and sperm concentration of the men, who were from all regions of Switzerland, was among the lowest in Europe (along with Germany, Denmark, and Norway).

In Europe, median sperm count ranges from 41 to 67 million per milliliter (ml), depending on the country. The researchers found that the group of Swiss men had a median sperm count of 48 million per ml. And 17 percent of the men had sperm counts below 15 million per ml (thus subfertile). By the way, countries with lower sperm counts and quality, have higher rates of testicular cancer - they go hand in hand.

Also, in a quarter of the Swiss men studied, less than 40 percent of sperm cells were motile (moved normally), and 43 percent of men had less than 4 percent normally formed sperm. Overall, only 38 percent of Swiss men had healthy sperm - that is, with concentration, motility, and morphology (shape, form) that met the WHO’s criteria for healthy sperm.

Why is this happening? The researchers found that of the men with very low sperm concentration, more of their mothers smoked during the pregnancy, which means there could be changes during embryonic development. Also, while this study did not discuss this, many other researchers say that sperm health is "the canary in the mine" for male health - evidence of harm to men from environmental and lifestyle influences. 

These Western developed countries are awash in chemicals and plastics, also with endocrine disruptors (hormone disruptors) in our foods, our personal care products, in products all around us - and so studies find these chemicals in all of us (in varying degrees). Same with flame retardants, pesticides, "scented" products. Exposure to all sorts of environmental pollutants - whether in air, water, soil, our food - such as high levels of aluminum. All of these can have an effect on sperm counts and reproductive health. You can't totally avoid these chemicals, but you can try to lower your amounts of exposure (some tips to lower exposures).

From Medical Xpress: Poor semen quality in Switzerland   ...continue reading "Male Fertility Is Plunging In Switzerland"

To the alarm of many, male fertility (sperm quality and sperm counts) has been rapidly declining over the past few decades. Researchers suspect that it's due to our exposure to chemicals in the environment, especially to endocrine disrupting chemicals - of which there are many, and to which we are exposed to daily. A recent study found that detrimental effects occur in the sperm of both humans and dogs when exposed to the common plastic softener DEHP and the persistent industrial chemical polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB153). The researchers suggest this is because dogs live in households with humans and thus are exposed to the same environmental contaminants.

DEHP (diethylhexyl phthalate) is an endocrine disruptor (interferes with hormone systems) that is found in plastic materials in many household and personal items - for example, in carpets, vinyl flooring, some upholstery, rainwear, wires, some plastic toys, fragrances and air fresheners, some PVC pipes, some food packaging, medical tubing, plastic shower curtains. The problem is that it slowly leaches out of the products and into the air and household dust, it leaches out of packaging into foods (which we then ingest), and it can also be absorbed through direct skin contact. Bottom line: try to avoid DEHP by avoiding plastics known as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or vinyl as much as possible. (One can't totally avoid them, but can reduce exposure to them.)

From Science Daily: Chemical pollutants in the home degrade fertility in both men and dogs, study finds

New research by scientists at the University of Nottingham suggests that environmental contaminants found in the home and diet have the same adverse effects on male fertility in both humans and in domestic dogs.  ...continue reading "Common Chemical Has Negative Effects On Sperm of Both Humans and Dogs"

Air pollution is linked to so many negative health effects, now another one - poorer quality sperm. In this study 6475 males  (ages ranged from 15–49 years) had their sperm analyzed as part of a standard medical examination program in Taiwan. They were also able to get air pollution measurements for each person's address for that time period. They found that both short-term and long-term exposure to higher levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution were linked to lower numbers of sperm being normal in size and shape (sperm morphology), but with a higher concentration of sperm. Perhaps a  compensatory phenomenon?

The researchers pointed out that other studies have also found effects from air pollution on sperm. Since this study only analyzed a person's sperm one time, the findings are correlational (they observed an association, but couldn't definitely say it caused the effect). [Some other posts on sperm qualityhere, here, here.] From Medical Xpress:

Air pollution linked to poorer quality sperm

Air pollution, particularly levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), is associated with poorer quality sperm, suggests research published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Although the size of the effect is relatively small in clinical terms, given how widespread air pollution is, this might spell infertility for a "significant number of couples," say the researchers.

Environmental exposure to chemicals is thought to be a potential factor in worsening sperm quality, but the jury is still out on whether air pollution might also have a role. To explore this possibility further, the international team of researchers looked at the impact on health of short and long term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) among nearly 6500 15 to 49 year old men in Taiwan.

The men were all taking part in a standard medical examination programme between 2001 and 2014, during which their sperm quality was assessed (total numbers, shape/size, movement) as set out by World Health Organization guidelines. PM2.5 levels were estimated for each man's home address for a period of three months, as that is how long it takes for sperm to be generated, and for an average of 2 years, using a new mathematical approach combined with NASA satellite data.

A strong association between PM2.5 exposure and abnormal sperm shape was found. Every 5 ug/m3 increase in fine particulate matter across the 2 year average was associated with a significant drop in normal sperm shape/size of 1.29 per cent. And it was associated with a 26 per cent heightened risk of being in the bottom 10 per cent of normal sperm size and shape, after taking account of potentially influential factors, such as smoking and drinking, age or overweight. However, it was also associated with a significant increase in sperm numbers, possibly as a compensatory mechanism to combat the detrimental effects on shape and size, suggest the researchers. Similar findings were evident after three months of exposure to PM2.5. [Original study.]