a health agency points to environmental causes

The deterioration of sperm quality and cases of precocious puberty probably have environmental causes but they are difficult to disentangle. This is explained, Tuesday, July 3, the Public Health Agency France in his Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin on this "global indicator of public health" that is sperm.

The trend is disturbing. Between 1989 and 2005, its sperm concentration dropped by almost a third (-32.2%), or nearly 2% per year, according to measurements made on nearly 27,000 men. "It is possible that this decline began in the 1970s, if we take into account a previous study carried out in the Paris region from 1973 to 1992" have also emphasized the researchers.

Ce phenomenon is not unique to France. The authors cite a study of 2017 that estimates this decline at "1.4% per annum" on average "in Western countries (North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand)" .

"Various causal hypotheses can be evoked, including exposures to PE" (endocrine disruptors), argue the authors. "Other causes are possible or may be intertwined with previous ones, such as smoking in pregnant women (…), nutritional or metabolic factors, air pollution or lifestyle changes (sedentary lifestyle, stress, heat , sleep) "

At the same time, cases of testicular cancer, which occur most often in patients aged 20 to 40, are progressing. From 1998 to 2014, the incidence of the disease increased by 1.5% per year. This rise "in populations of North European origin for several decades is a known fact and still unexplained" emphasize the researchers.

Cases of precocious puberty are only beginning to be identified, taking into account count the number of children treated. Occurring by "signs of puberty before the age of 8 years for girls and 9 years for boys" this puberty can have multiple negative consequences for physical and mental health. She touches girls ten times more than boys. And the differences are marked between the regions, with two particularly affected places: the former Midi-Pyrenees and the Rhone, with incidences several times higher than the national average.

"Early puberty can to be linked to specific genetic factors, and ethnic / population factors could also play a role " estimates the French health agency.

But "the role of an environmental exposure to potentially endocrine disrupting substances that may be of anthropogenic origin [liée à l’intervention des humains] must be taken into consideration, without ruling out environmental factors that have not yet been identified ", according to the researchers