Private MD News

Common chemicals may impair male fertility

Category: Infertility Testing-Male

For men who received FSH test results indicating they have impaired fertility, common environmental chemicals may be to blame, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Andrology.

For the study, researchers from the University of Glasgow in Scotland exposed groups of sheep to the types of chemicals that people encounter in daily activities. These included cosmetic chemicals, detergents and pollutants.

The results showed that 42 percent of the animals experienced significant reductions in their sperm count. These sheep would have had a difficult time achieving reproductive success.

The researchers said the findings may explain why more couples have sought fertility treatments over the last few years. As the amount of chemicals in the environment increases, so too could the number of men who experience fertility problems.

"These findings emphasize that even when the concentration of single chemicals in the environment may be very low, it is hard to predict what the health effects are when an individual is exposed to a mixture of chemicals," said lead researcher Neil Evans.