Low sperm counts making it harder for couples to conceive

Low sperm counts and reduced male fertility may be making it even harder for couples to conceive and be contributing to low birth rates in many countries, reveals a new European Science Foundation (ESF) report launching at a meeting in Paris.
More than 10% of couples worldwide are infertile, contributing to the growing demand for assisted reproduction techniques such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for which Robert G. Edwards won the Nobel Prize in Medicine last month.

Sperm counts have dropped significantly in the last 50 years in developed countries. Today, at least one in five 18-25 year old men in Europe have semen quality in subfertile range. Testosterone levels are also declining. This is mirrored by increasing testicular cancer in most industrialised countries and more developmental abnormalities such as undescended testes. All of these factors are linked to reduced fertility and may have common origins during foetal development.

“The important impact of men’s reproductive health on a couple’s fertility is often overlooked,” said Professor Niels Skakkebæk from the University of Copenhagen, who co-authored the report. “Women postponing motherhood have reduced fertility, and we now see that poor sperm may be making it even harder to conceive. While poor sperm may be part of the reason more couples are using IVF it may also be making those therapies less successful.”

Skakkebæk continues: “We need a common strategy in Europe to target research so we can address the poor state of men’s reproductive health. That this decrease in male reproductive health has occurred in just a few decades suggests it’s caused by environmental and lifestyle factors rather than genetics. So it is preventable if we correctly identify the causes.”

In men some lifestyle factors such as obesity and smoking can affect sperm counts, but the effects are small. In contrast, if women smoke heavily in pregnancy, a much larger fall in sperm count is likely in their sons when they grow up. Testosterone levels naturally drop as men age, which may predispose men to cardiovascular and metabolic health problems that pose large financial and healthcare issues for national governments. Low sperm counts and low testosterone levels are both associated with increased risk of early death for men.

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Men who use laptop computers on their knees may harm their 'sperm'

Millions of men are putting their reproductive health at risk by balancing their laptops on their knees, experts have warned.
Researchers from the State University of New York asked 29 young men to work on computers placed on their laps. They then measured the change in temperature in their genital area. Study leader, Professor Yelim Sheynkin, said: 'Millions and millions of men are using laptops now, especially those in the reproductive age range.

'Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don't feel it.' Around one in seven couples in the UK have trouble conceiving and male infertility plays a part in around half of these cases.

Under normal circumstances, the position of the testicles outside the body keeps them a few degrees cooler than the inside of the body, which is necessary for sperm production.

No studies have yet researched how laptops affect male fertility, but earlier research has showed that warming the scrotum even more than one degree Celsius is enough to damage sperm.

The latest study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, found the mens' testicle temperature had risen by up to 2.5 C after holding a laptop on their knees for an hour.

Professor Sheynkin said: 'I wouldn't say that if someone starts to use laptops they will become infertile.' However, he warned that frequent use might contribute to reproductive problems because 'the scrotum doesn't have time to cool down.'

The team found when the men sat with their legs spread wide with a large lap pad under the computer they could keep their testicles cooler. But it still took less than 30 minutes before they began overheating.

'No matter what you do, even with the legs spread wide apart, the temperature is still going to be higher than what we call safe,' Professor Sheynkin said.

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