- Between 1973 and 2018, the global average number of sperm in men halved.
- Some hypotheses claim that the causes are worldwide increases in obesity, stress and environmental pollution.
- According to the WHO there are between 48 million couples and 186 million people with infertility problems globally.
To talk about comprehensive health it is necessary to cover all aspects of life such as the sexual part. It is a highly relevant item, although a large part of the population neglects it or does not show sufficient interest. As a consequence, in recent years there has been an increase in infections and unwanted pregnancies.
Current landscape of infertility
In this sense, infertility is a global health problem that affects millions of people of childbearing age throughout the planet. Available WHO data indicates that between 48 million couples and 186 million people have infertility globally. It is a disease of the male or female reproductive system consisting of the impossibility of achieving a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.
Broadly speaking, it is divided into two groups. The primary infertility It is the inability to achieve a pregnancy. while the secondary infertility It refers to not being able to get pregnant after a previous conception.
According to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) of the WHO, infertility may be due to masculine, feminine factors, to a combination of both or to be idiopathic. In any case, in both women and men, environmental and lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, and exposure to environmental pollutants have been associated with lower fertility rates.
Sexual health at risk due to decreased sperm in men
All of the above leads to a phenomenon related to male infertility: the average number of gametes in sperm has decreased alarmingly in recent decades.
As revealed by a global study published this November in the journal Human Reproduction Update, between 1973 and 2018 the average number of sperm in men fell by half. With this, he went from 101 million to 49 million per milliliter of semen.
In this regard, several explanations have been proposed for this decline in fertility. Among the main ones, it is mentioned that the global increases in obesity, stress and environmental pollution are the main responsible.
Researchers believe that humanity may be facing a reproductive health crisis. “I think it’s another sign that something is wrong in the world and we have to do something about it. I think it is a crisis and it is better to address it now, before it reaches a tipping point that may be irreversible,” said the study’s lead author, Hagai Levine, in his statements to the British newspaper The Guardian that were taken up by Statista.
On the other hand, some scientists are more cautious with the results of this study. Sperm concentration is undoubtedly one of the main factors in male fertility, but it is not the only one. Your vitality, your mobility and your shape also play an important role.
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