Scientists have raised the alarm over claims of possible human extinction if sperm counts continue to drop as fast as they have done in the last four decades in Western countries.
These are the findings of a new study published by ‘Human Reproduction Update’. The researchers behind the study are from the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Isreal.
They claimed that Western lifestyle has more than halved the sperm count of men in the United States (U.S), Europe and Australia since the 1970s. Sperm count is a measure of the number of spermatozoa per ejaculation or per measured amount of semen, used as an indication of a man’s fertility. Sperm count is the best measure of male fertility, according to the lead author of the study, Dr. Hagai Levine. He asserted that the findings are an ‘urgent wake-up call’ to investigate lifestyle factors, chemicals and environment that could cause the human species to go extinct.
“If we do not make a drastic change to how we live and the chemicals we are exposed to, I am worried about the future,’ he said The study found 59.3 per cent average decline in total sperm count and a 52.4 per cent average decline in sperm concentration among these men. The men researched in those studies were not chosen for the studies based on their fertility status.
