SPERM COUNT DECLINING AT ACCELERATING RATE WORLDWIDE-STUDY SAYS

Men are not producing as many sperm as they were decades ago and the pace of decline is accelerating around the globe, according to a new analysis of sperm count studies published recently in the journal Human Reproduction Update. It’s the largest report to examine the issue.

In a news release, the researchers behind the analysis framed their findings as a “looming crisis” and a “canary in a coal mine” that could “threaten mankind’s survival.”

Shanna Swan, an author of the analysis, said the new research should sound alarms about men’s overall health and reproductive fitness.

Sperm count is the total number of sperm a man produces. Sperm concentration is the number of sperm per millilitre of semen.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies sperm counts at or above 15 million sperm per millilitre (mL) of semen as average. Anything below that is considered low and is diagnosed as oligozoospermia.

To assess sperm counts worldwide, researchers evaluated hundreds of scientific articles, ultimately combining the data and findings of 223 previous articles about sperm concentration. The researchers evaluated the estimates, which included data on semen samples from 1973 to 2018. The authors tried to control for factors like age and abstinence time.

Data from 53 countries was included in the meta-analysis, including Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,

Taiwan, Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

With the additional new countries, the study confirmed the 2017 finding that sperm counts have halved over the last four decades.

Between 1973 and 2018, the concentration of sperm in men not known to be infertile fell by more than 51 percent, from 101.2 million to 49 million sperm per millimetre of semen, the new study has found.

“Furthermore, data suggest that this worldwide decline is continuing in the 21st century at an accelerated pace,” it read.

Meanwhile, Dr Chawada Molomo says there is a possibility of low sperm count being a hereditary issue but the cases are very few.

“It is advisable to do a genetic test as well as a microdeletion test that provides information about the health of your still- developing baby, she says.

As a first step of a man’s fertility investigation, she explains, he is asked to undergo a physical examination and fertility experts evaluate his medical history, taking into account his personal and family background, social and environmental factors that can influence your fertility.

A semen analysis is usually ordered to measure any abnormalities in the morphology and motility of the sperm.

She explains that a specialist helps to diagnose the issue and recommend treatments or procedures that can result in conception.