4 ms·

The sperm count has been decreasing for many years in Western countries (2013)

18 points by monort 12y ago

DangerousPie 12y ago
A scientific publication by a single author in a virtually unknown journal ("The Internet Journal of Urology") from 2003? I would be very suspicious of this.
- witty_username 12y ago
  Yup and see > Exposure to radiation has further increased with the invention of televisions, microwaves, x-rays, nuclear weapons and the construction of power stations. a) Two different types of radiation are being grouped together. b) Light radiation decreasing sperm motility seems quite weird AFAIK.
- Squarel 12y ago
  The results are more mixed than the author implies http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120515-are-sperm-counts-dropping http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120515-are-sperm-counts-dr... There are falling sperm counts in some regions, and there is evidence that Bisphenol-A etc can interfere with sperm production (note the use of "can", not "does"), but there is not definitive evidence at present It is a complex picture, as with much in vivo biology, and the research is still in its infancy, which leads to confusion. Here are some links to some other journals: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09600760/127/1 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09600760/127/1 <--- An issue of a journal covering many areas of endocrine disruptor research http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.15252/embr.201438869/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.15252/embr.201438869/a... <----- a more recent paper
a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
> the cause (or causes) must lie with changes in our environment or lifestyle over the past few years. This is not exactly true. The time span here crosses four or five generations. That's enough time for genetic forces to be at work. People keep forgetting that very large numbers of children died of infections before the 1950s and 60s. Very large numbers of people walking around today have genotypes that for most prior human history would have been eliminated. You also increasingly have a lot of people walking around who wouldn't exist without fertility therapies. I suspect this plays into a lot of disease trends but it's really never mentioned in the press.
ihm 12y ago
Here's a reasonably well-cited article rebutting these claims. http://www.jpurol.com/article/S1477-5131%2809%2900349-0/abstract?cc=y http://www.jpurol.com/article/S1477-5131%2809%2900349-0/abst... And a free version which seems similar http://www.harryfisch.com/pdf/Declining%20Worldwide%20Sperm%20Counts-Disproving%20a%20Myth.pdf http://www.harryfisch.com/pdf/Declining%20Worldwide%20Sperm%...
- graeme 12y ago
  The first article, the abstract, refers to hypospadia, a urethral defect. The second, full text article, is the one directly addressing the article above.
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    More than addresses it - smashes it out of the park! I wonder what has happened to Elizabeth Carlsen?

18 points by monort 12y ago

A scientific publication by a single author in a virtually unknown journal ("The Internet Journal of Urology") from 2003? I would be very suspicious of this.

witty_username 12y ago
Yup and see > Exposure to radiation has further increased with the invention of televisions, microwaves, x-rays, nuclear weapons and the construction of power stations. a) Two different types of radiation are being grouped together. b) Light radiation decreasing sperm motility seems quite weird AFAIK.
Squarel 12y ago
The results are more mixed than the author implies http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120515-are-sperm-counts-dropping http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120515-are-sperm-counts-dr... There are falling sperm counts in some regions, and there is evidence that Bisphenol-A etc can interfere with sperm production (note the use of "can", not "does"), but there is not definitive evidence at present It is a complex picture, as with much in vivo biology, and the research is still in its infancy, which leads to confusion. Here are some links to some other journals: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09600760/127/1 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09600760/127/1 <--- An issue of a journal covering many areas of endocrine disruptor research http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.15252/embr.201438869/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.15252/embr.201438869/a... <----- a more recent paper

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago

> the cause (or causes) must lie with changes in our environment or lifestyle over the past few years. This is not exactly true. The time span here crosses four or five generations. That's enough time for genetic forces to be at work. People keep forgetting that very large numbers of children died of infections before the 1950s and 60s. Very large numbers of people walking around today have genotypes that for most prior human history would have been eliminated. You also increasingly have a lot of people walking around who wouldn't exist without fertility therapies. I suspect this plays into a lot of disease trends but it's really never mentioned in the press.

ihm 12y ago

Here's a reasonably well-cited article rebutting these claims. http://www.jpurol.com/article/S1477-5131%2809%2900349-0/abstract?cc=y http://www.jpurol.com/article/S1477-5131%2809%2900349-0/abst... And a free version which seems similar http://www.harryfisch.com/pdf/Declining%20Worldwide%20Sperm%20Counts-Disproving%20a%20Myth.pdf http://www.harryfisch.com/pdf/Declining%20Worldwide%20Sperm%...

graeme 12y ago
The first article, the abstract, refers to hypospadia, a urethral defect. The second, full text article, is the one directly addressing the article above.
- danieltillett 12y ago
  More than addresses it - smashes it out of the park! I wonder what has happened to Elizabeth Carlsen?