A new study has found a possible link between air pollution and a drop in sperm quality.
The increasing pollution in the air causes millions of premature deaths every year, and evidence shows that it also has negative effects on male fertility.
Earlier this year, a review suggested that “modern life” was to blame for a 60 percent drop in sperm counts in Western countries in just 40 years.
"The research team has found that a “significant number of couples” could suffer from infertility resulting from air pollution," according to the research team.
“Air pollution is the world’s largest single environmental health risk,” The Independent reported quoting Dr Lao Xiang Qian, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
When we breathe in polluted environment, fine particulates containing toxic chemicals including heavy metals pass into our lungs, allowing them to enter the bloodstream. From there, they can cause damage to semen, something that has been demonstrated in laboratory studies.
However, the jury is still out as to whether air pollution directly impacts sperm in humans.
To find out, his team took the sperm quality data from 6,500 15- to 49-year old men in Taiwan, and matched it against the fine particulate levels at their home addresses. They found a strong association between high air-pollution levels and abnormal sperm shape.
The effects were relatively small, but given the prevalence of air pollution the researchers note that even small changes resulting from it could present a major public health challenge.
