Chemicals in our environment are a major cause of infertility problems in both humans and animals, but recent data shows that climate change is another looming threat to fertility.

Males of some species can become infertile at temperatures much lower than the maximum temperature they are able to endure for survival. A species survival is more dependent on the temperature at which it becomes infertile rather than the temperature it can survive.|

Researchers examined 43 species of flies. They examined the temperature lethal for 80% of the flies, and the temperature at which 80% of males become infertile.

Researchers found that 11 of the 43 species suffered loss in fertility at cooler than lethal temperatures immediately after heat stress. The effect of infertility continued to get worse after seven days. After seven days 19 out of 43 species suffered infertility at cooler than lethal temperatures.

These fertility responses are crucial to species survival. A separate study led by one author of this article, using simulated climate change in the laboratory, showed experimental populations of the same flies become extinct not because they can’t survive the heat, but because the males become infertile. Species from tropical rainforests were the first to succumb to extinction.

Fly infertility shows we’re underestimating how badly climate change harms animals

Too-high temperatures have also been shown to affect fertilization in corals, cows, pigs, fish and birds.

They might have used different methodology and measurements, but two recent studies have come to the same conclusion – male fertility is on the decline. Both studies were premiered at the Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Denver.

The first study is a collaborative effort between private fertility centers in New Jersey and Spain. This study looked at 120,000 men struggling with infertility and found that the percentage of men with a total motile sperm count (TMSC) of more than 15 million declined from 85 percent in 2002-05 to 79 percent in 2014-17. A TMSC under 15 million is considered low, and this study also found that the number of men with an extremely low TMSC (0 to 5 million) increased from 9 to more than 11.5 percent.

The second study comes from researchers at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine in conjunction with the California Cryobank and Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York. They looked at 124,000 sperm samples from 2,600 donors between 19-38 from various locations, including Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Houston, Boston, Indianapolis, and New York City. Testing sperm count, sperm concentration, and TMSC, researchers discovered that these numbers declined in almost every location from 2007 to 2017 (New York City was an exception for all three factors, while sperm counts in Boston showed no change).

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This is not news. Scientists from Hebrew University in Jerusalem found last year that sperm counts in the west have more than halved over the last forty years. The average rate of yearly decline is 1.4 percent. At this point, the real news would be the discovery of why. Why are men in the developed world experiencing this loss of fertility? Science still don’t know.

What We Need to Know

There are some theories as to how sperm counts and male fertility are declining in the western world. Some say the lack of exercise and increasing obesity play a part in decreased sperm numbers. Others point to the standard American diet, laced with sugar, soy, and other health-disrupting substances. Chemicals found in everyday items like Bis-Phenol A (BPA) are another common reason floated for the decline of male fertility. Add in smoking, stress, and drinking, and the causes of male infertility look like the textbook definition of an unhealthy lifestyle. Scientists haven’t found the official link between infertility and this kind of lifestyle. This suggests there isn’t one cause for the decline, though.  All of these options are valid and correct. Together they form the conditions needed to effectively slow men’s fertility in its tracks.

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Is This A Bad Thing?

As an environmentalist, I would love this news if the decrease in fertility wasn’t caused by environmental toxicity. Fewer people means less strain on resources, and 2017 study found that potential parents lower carbon emissions equivalent to 58.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year by having one fewer child. But lower sperm counts and decreased male fertility negatively affect the lives of the men dealing with them. Individuals struggling with infertility are more likely to develop diabetes, substance abuse disorders, or heart conditions. In a way that strains resources as well, especially in the U.S., where health care costs are a heavy burden on the population. Maybe we should treat infertility as a lifestyle problem, rather than a medical one. Let’s see that study.

Sources:

• Sperm Counts Continue to Fall – The Atlantic
• Study Finds Declining Sperm Counts in Houston and Other Cities – Houston Public Media
• Sperm counts of Western men plummeting, analysis finds – CNN
• The infertility crisis is beyond doubt. Now scientists must find the cause – The Guardian

The ibuprofen dosage commonly taken by high-level male athletes can afflict their testicles with a condition seen often in elderly men and linked to lower fertility.

According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, heavy daily usage of the ibuprofen “alters human testicular physiology” which results in a disorder called compensated hypogonadism.

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The study involved 31 men under the age of 35 and took place in Denmark and France. They looked at 1,200 milligrams of ibuprofen daily, which is the maximum limit to be taken regularly as directed. Within two weeks the amount of testosterone production was contingent upon the amount of ibuprofen in their blood. This disorder is also linked to depression and strokes.

We report a univocal depression of important aspects of testicular function, including testosterone production, after use of over-the-counter ibuprofen.”

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Symptoms are reversible when the ibuprofen was taken for a brief amount of time. More research is needed to understand effects of taking such ibuprofen dosages over longer periods like athletes often do.

Source:

• Ibuprofen use linked male infertility study finds