Scientists are warning that common chemicals used could be seriously affecting men's fertility. The findings, built on an accumulation of evidence over the last few decades, were analysed by reproductive epidemiologist Shanna Swan who explained them in an interview with The Intercept.
Her team's investigations found that men's fertility had dropped significantly over the last two decades measured by the amount of healthy sperm an average man produces.
Among the most common chemicals blamed for the drop in fertility are phthalates, which are found in plastics, food packaging, and cosmetics andBisphenol A. There is even a serious worry that these compounds could affect the growth and development of children in the mother's womb, leading to physical and mental impairment. Perhaps most worryingly is that these chemicals can cause unborn children to have hormonal damage and lessen the differentiation between males and females.
She said in the interview:
"One of the parts of the brain that's sexually dimorphic has to do with language acquisition, and females are typically at an advantage. When you ask the mother of a young child how many words her child understands, girls generally have many more words. But this sex difference is decreased by phthalates. And that is an overriding theme: Whether you look at [anogenital distance] or play behaviour or language acquisition, these chemicals decrease sex differences."
Swan also believes that because one of the parents, a mother or father, passes down the phthalate impairment to the unborn child, and the child is then further exposed during their lifetime, the issue could worsen over time. In effect, there is a compound exposure.
"That's why we have this continuing decline in fertility and sperm quality. If we didn't have a hit from our parents and our grandparents, then each generation would just start all over again. It would be bad, but the impact would be at the same level each time. The fact that we carry with us the problems of the past generations means that we're starting at a lower level and getting hit again and again and again."
Unfortunately, phthalates found in plastics are just one of a number of chemicals that can affect reproduction and fertility. In 2016 Science Daily published an article in which stated that eating meat from farms where animals feed on grass that is treated with pesticides can result in the individual consuming the meat to become contaminated with fertility reducing chemicals. There is also significant evidence that as pesticides run off from farms and contaminate water-supplies, this too could be a vehicle for contamination.
These current concerns could very well become a primary public health concern in the coming decades, should the impact on fertility be as bad as is worried.
h/t: [Futurism]
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