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Male fertility is declining every year in the western world – and experts are blaming modern chemicals and lifestyles.
A study of 124,000 men attending fertility clinics in Europe and the United States showed that sperm quality decreased by almost 2% per year.
Separate search for 2,600 sperm donors [men with above-normal fertility] showed a similar trend.
Although most men can still have a child, scientists say the human race may disappear if the trend continues.
It follows a landmark study last year showing a 59% reduction in the number of Western sperm from 1973 to 2011.
(Image: iStockphoto)
Pesticides, hormone disrupting chemicals, stress, smoking and obesity are considered causes, with too much alcohol, caffeine and processed meat.
Some chemicals are used to make flexible plastics and flame retardant furniture – which can enter the food chain via plants or animals.
Experts also point to the increase in testicular cancer, the number of boys born with one or two missing testicles, and changes in testosterone levels.
Scientists from Valencia, Spain, and New Jersey, USA, conducted the first large-scale "swimmer" sperm study, known as the total number of motile sperm.
The men were divided into three groups with low, medium and high numbers. The TMSC of those in the highest US group decreased by 1.8% each year.
The results are alarming at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Denver, Colorado this week.
The co-author, James Hotaling, said: "It is possible that more men become infertile, which is worrisome.
"It takes two people to make a child."
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