A new study, published in the Human Reproduction Update, suggests sperm levels have declined by more than 50 percent among Western men and, sadly, there’s not even an ounce of evidence showing the trend will slow down.
The results later showed there was a drop of 52.4 percent in sperm concentration, with the number of total sperm count falling by 59.3 percent in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand within a span of 40 years.
While the experts didn’t exactly pinpoint what the cause could be, they did indicate the amount of chemicals used in everyday products might be behind the new revelations.
"Sperm count and other semen parameters have been plausibly associated with multiple environmental influences, including endocrine disrupting chemicals, pesticides, heat and lifestyle factors, including diet, stress, smoking and body-mass index," the paper noted.
Worried about the future, Levine believes the findings suggest a dark road ahead for mankind.
"Eventually we may have a problem, and with reproduction in general, and it may be the extinction of the human species," Levine told the BBC.
Despite not finding evidence that suggests those living in South America, Asia and Africa, had lower counts, only time will tell if these regions will eventually follow suit, says Levine.
For Professor Daniel Brison, an expert in clinical embryology, who wasn’t involved in the research, the new evidence tossed out any debate whether the decline was actually happening.
However, as it goes, critics are still straddling the sidelines.
"We have got very little epidemiological evidence to say what might be causing it," Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, told the Guardian. "So we are still scratching our heads a little bit in my view."
