Could French men actually be becoming less fertile? That is certainly what a new study seems to suggest, with the results being published in the Human Reproduction journal. The study seemed to indicate that between 1989 and 2005, sperm counts in average 35 year old French men saw a drop of around 32 percent.
If these results are accurate, the health concerns and fertility concerns of an increasing number of people could prove to be justified, and this could represent a serious threat to wellbeing in the future. The research was carried out by looking at sperm samples from 26, 609 French men whose partners were completely infertile (due to no fallopian tubes or blocked fallopian tubes) and undergoing fertility treatment. When evaluated, the results proved quite shocking. It seemed that semen concentration in sperm decreased each year by around 1.9 percent. This would seem to reflect a growing awareness of reduction in fertility around the globe, although this has not yet been proved.
The men in the study were of various ages, ranging between 18 and 70, so age was not thought to play a factor in their wellness. Fresh samples were used and factors such as motility, percentage of normal sperm and concentration of sperm were noted. In total, the decrease in sperm concentration for the group as a whole was 32.2 percent over the course of the study, and a small decrease in ‘normal’ sperm was also noted, although a slight increase in motility at one stage of the study seemed to be observed.
Some contributing factors may be that French men are more likely to be overweight and to smoke, although other factors should be investigated such as a link to environmental changes and environmental toxins.