Story at-a-glance
- Men experienced a 50% to 60% decline in sperm counts from 1973 to 2011, according to a 2017 study published in Human Reproduction Update
- A 2022 update to the study includes data from 53 countries and an additional seven years — 2011 to 2018 — and the results are alarmingly similar
- Sperm concentration declined “appreciably” by 51.6% from 1973 to 2018
- The percent decline per year doubled, increasing from 1.16% after 1972 to 2.64% after 2000
- Total sperm count also declined at an alarming level — 62.3% from 1973 to 2018
- The study authors believe lifestyle choices and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the environment are key culprits in the declines
An impending fertility crisis is upon us. Men experienced a 50% to 60% decline in sperm counts from 1973 to 2011, according to a 2017 study published in Human Reproduction Update.1 That study included men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but was criticized because it didn’t include global data.
“At that time, there were too few studies with data from South/Central America-Asia-Africa (SAA) to reliably estimate trends among men from these continents,” the research team explained in a 2022 update.2 The new study includes data from 53 countries and an additional seven years3 — 2011 to 2018 — but the results are alarmingly similar.
Continue reading “Sperm Counts Are Declining at Accelerating Rates Worldwide”
