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What is happening to human
fertility?
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Infertility, Male
(Genetic aspects) Infertility, Male (Environmental aspects) Infertility, Male (Risk factors) |
| Pub Date: | 05/01/2010 |
| Publication: | Name: Reproductive Health Matters Publisher: Reproductive Health Matters Audience: General Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Family and marriage; Health; Women's issues/gender studies Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 Reproductive Health Matters ISSN: 0968-8080 |
| Issue: | Date: May, 2010 Source Volume: 18 Source Issue: 35 |
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| Accession Number: | 236247757 |
| Full Text: |
Semen quality appears to have declined in recent decades in some
populations, e.g. northwestern Europe, for unknown reasons. At the same
time, couple fertility may have increased. Hypotheses are suggested for
this apparent inconsistency. Alongside the deterioration of
spermatogenesis there is evidence of an increase in other related
problems, notably testicular cancer, which started rising sharply a
century ago. This and other evidence indicates an environmental origin,
but there is also a genetic component. The relationship between genetics
and environment is discussed in the context of the puzzle that
infertility is inherited, which appears to be impossible from an
evolutionary standpoint. In addition, the human tendencies to inferior
semen quality, lower fertility, higher rates of aneuploidy and of early
pregnancy loss compared with other mammals may be linked, and this
appears to involve both male- and female-mediated pathways. The evidence
indicates that the currently most popular explanation for male
reproductive system impairment--the endocrine disruption
hypothesis--cannot explain the main features of the descriptive
epidemiology. The pathogenesis involved remains obscure but could
involve an intergenerational process of environmental origin that
induces genetic damage in germ cells. (1) (1.) Joffe M. What has happened to human fertility? Human Reproduction 2010;25(2):295-307. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2010 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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