Poor semen quality may contribute to recent decline in fertility rates

被引:65
作者
Jensen, TK
Carlsen, E
Jorgensen, N
Berthelsen, JG
Keiding, N
Christensen, K
Petersen, JH
Knudsen, LB
Skakkebæk, NE
机构
[1] Rigshosp, Juliane Marie Ctr, Dept Growth & Reprod, Sect GR5064, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
[2] Univ So Denmark, Dept Environm Med, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
[3] Cent Hosp Hillerod, Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, DK-3400 Hillerod, Denmark
[4] Univ Copenhagen, Dept Biostat, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
[5] Univ So Denmark, Dept Epidemiol, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
[6] Univ So Denmark, Danish Ctr Demog Res, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
关键词
Denmark; fecundity; fertility rates; semen quality;
D O I
10.1093/humrep/17.6.1437
中图分类号
R71 [妇产科学];
学科分类号
100211 ;
摘要
During past decades, we have witnessed a remarkable decline in fertility rates (number of births per 1000 women of reproductive age) in the industrialized world. It seems beyond doubt that the enormous social changes of our societies play the major role in this decline, but can it be attributed to changing social structures alone or is a reduced fecundity in the population also a factor? To address this we have focused on trends in teenage pregnancies (which to a large extent are unplanned). During the period in question fertility rates among 15-19 year old Danish women have been falling and the decline in fertility rate is not counterbalanced by an increase in the rate of induced abortion. When seen together with recent results from Denmark, which have shown that more than 30% of 19 year old men from the general population now have sperm counts in the subfertile range, we argue that this fall may not be attributable to social factors, changes in conceptive practices or diminished sexual activity alone. It seems reasonable also to consider widespread poor semen quality among men as a potential contributing factor to low fertility rates among teenagers. Due to the concern caused by the low sperm count among younger Danish men, the Danish Ministries of Health and Environment have launched a surveillance programme which includes an annual examination of the semen quality in 600 young Danes from the general population. We propose that researchers in other countries with low and falling fertility rates among young women should consider the possibility that semen quality of their younger male cohorts may also have deteriorated.
引用
收藏
页码:1437 / 1440
页数:4
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