Scientists Raise Concern Over Potential Human Extinction
Scientists have warned that the human race might go into extinction and face a reproductive crisis if action is not taken to tackle the drop in sperm count, after ascertaining the alarming rate of decline.
The latest study published, yesterday, in the journal, Human Reproduction Update, based on 153 estimates from men, who were probably unaware of their fertility, suggested that the average sperm concentration fell from an estimated 101.2m per ml to 49.0m per ml between 1973 and 2018 – a drop of 51.6 per cent. Total sperm counts dipped by 62.3 per cent during the same period.
Research by the same team, reported in 2017, found that sperm concentration had more than halved in the last 40 years. However, at the time, a lack of data for other parts of the world meant the findings were focused on a region encompassing Europe, North America and Australia. The latest study included more recent data from 53 countries.
Declines in sperm concentration were seen not only in the region previously studied but also in Central and South America, Africa and Asia.
Moreover, the rate of decline appeared to be increasing: looking at data collected in all continents since 1972, the researchers found sperm concentrations declined by 1.16 per cent yearly. However, when they looked only at data collected since the year 2000, the decline was 2.64 per cent per year.
First author of the research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Prof. Hagai Levine, said: “I think this is another signal that something is wrong with the globe and that we need to do something about it. So yes, I think it’s a crisis, that we had better tackle now, before it may reach a tipping point, which may not be reversible.”
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Previous studies had also suggested that fertility is compromised if sperm concentration falls below 40m per ml. While the latest estimate is above this threshold, Levine noted that this is a mean figure, suggesting the percentage of men below this threshold would have increased.
“Such a decline clearly represents a decline in the capacity of the population to reproduce,” he said.
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While the study accounted for factors, including age and how long men had gone without ejaculation and excluded men known to suffer from infertility, it has limitations, consisting of the fact that it did not look at other markers of sperm quality.
Professor of Andrology at the University of Sheffield, Allan Pacey, who was not involved in the work, praised the analysis but said he remained on the fence over whether there is a decline.
However, Levine dismissed such concerns, adding that, in any case, the decline has been more pronounced in more recent years.
A team of Nigerian medical experts had raised the alarm that more men could become infertile due to a huge drop in sperm quality caused by rising pollution, junk food, obesity, smoking, exposure to plastics and lack of exercise.
The experts said this has led to the number of men seeking treatment soaring by 700 per cent in just 15 years. They, nevertheless, proffered solutions on how to improve fertility naturally and achieve over 95 per cent success rate in Assisted Fertility Techniques (ART) such as In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).
A Professor of Anatomy and Consultant in ART/IVF/Test Tube Baby in Nigeria, Oladapo Ashiru, identified technology, especially the use of laptops by men, toxins in food and from the environment, bleaching creams, artificial sweeteners, chlamydia infection, obesity among others as decreasing sperm count in men and fueling the growth of fibroids in women.
To address the situation, Ashiru, who is also Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Medical Art Centre (MART) Clinics, Lagos, recommended medically monitored detoxification, weight loss, treatment of infections and other lifestyle modifications.
