Declining sperm counts in the United States? A critical review
- PMID: 9915426
Declining sperm counts in the United States? A critical review
Abstract
Purpose: Recent reports suggest declining sperm counts in the United States. These reports did not include all available data and did not account for geographic variations noted in prior studies. We examined all available data on U.S. sperm counts and evaluated whether geographic variations account for the decline suggested.
Materials and methods: We reviewed all 29 U.S. studies from 1938 to 1996 reporting manually counted semen analyses of 9,612 fertile or presumably fertile men. We determined mean sperm concentrations by geographic location with weighted analysis of variance, and assessed any changes with time by linear regression analysis.
Results: Mean sperm concentrations from New York were significantly higher than from all other U.S. cities (98.6 versus 71.6 x 10(6) sperm per cc, respectively, p = 0.006). There has been no statistically significant change with time for mean sperm concentrations reported from New York (p = 0.49) or from U.S. cities other than New York (p = 0.62). Analysis without separating by location revealed a decline (p = 0.047).
Conclusions: Sperm concentrations are highest in New York compared to other U.S. cities. When accounting for this geographic difference and examining all available data, there appears to be no significant change in sperm counts in the U.S. during the last 60 years. Further studies addressing the causes of geographic variations are needed.
Similar articles
-
Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.Hum Reprod Update. 2017 Nov 1;23(6):646-659. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmx022. Hum Reprod Update. 2017. PMID: 28981654 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Extended follow-up and spatial analysis of the American Cancer Society study linking particulate air pollution and mortality.Res Rep Health Eff Inst. 2009 May;(140):5-114; discussion 115-36. Res Rep Health Eff Inst. 2009. PMID: 19627030
-
Semen quality in fertile US men in relation to geographical area and pesticide exposure.Int J Androl. 2006 Feb;29(1):62-8; discussion 105-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.2005.00620.x. Int J Androl. 2006. PMID: 16466525
-
Iodine intake as a possible cause of discontinuous decline in sperm counts: a re-evaluation of historical and geographic variation in semen quality.Jpn J Vet Res. 2004 Aug;52(2):85-94. Jpn J Vet Res. 2004. PMID: 15481862 Review.
-
The relationship of sperm counts to birth rates: a population based study.J Urol. 1997 Mar;157(3):840-3. J Urol. 1997. PMID: 9072581
Cited by
-
Impact of Nanoparticles on Male Fertility: What Do We Really Know? A Systematic Review.Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 29;24(1):576. doi: 10.3390/ijms24010576. Int J Mol Sci. 2022. PMID: 36614018 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Cross Sectional Study on Exposure to BPA and Phthalates and Semen Parameters in Men Attending a Fertility Center.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan 13;17(2):489. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17020489. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020. PMID: 31940982 Free PMC article.
-
Decline in seminal quality in Indian men over the last 37 years.Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2018 Oct 23;16(1):103. doi: 10.1186/s12958-018-0425-z. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2018. PMID: 30352581 Free PMC article.
-
Windows of sensitivity to toxic chemicals in the development of reproductive effects: an analysis of ATSDR's toxicological profile database.Int J Environ Health Res. 2018 Oct;28(5):553-578. doi: 10.1080/09603123.2018.1496235. Epub 2018 Jul 19. Int J Environ Health Res. 2018. PMID: 30022686 Free PMC article.
-
[Environmental factors and male fertility].Urologe A. 2016 Jul;55(7):877-82. doi: 10.1007/s00120-016-0150-1. Urologe A. 2016. PMID: 27315808 Review. German.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources