Health
Male fertility rates crash as doctors reveal health threats: ‘Something very wrong’
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Scientists and physicians agree that there’s been a general decline in male fertility — but they aren’t sure why.
Social media buzz has pointed to a few environmental exposures as potential factors, including cellphones and electric vehicles.
But the reality is “more complicated” than that, according to experts who recently spoke to National Geographic.
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Although it’s not clear whether the decline is at a stage where it should be considered a crisis, numbers show that overall fertility — demographically measured by the number of babies born compared to women of child-bearing age — has decreased.
Scientists and physicians agree that there’s been a general decline in male fertility. (iStock)
Dr. Alex Robles of the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York confirmed that clinical practitioners are “certainly seeing more couples where the male factor contributes to infertility.”
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“At least one-third of couples we evaluate have some male component,” he told Fox News Digital.
A 2017 meta-analysis published in Oxford Journals: Human Reproduction Update found that sperm counts in Western countries have declined by almost 60% globally since 1973. The 2023 update confirmed these same results.
Urologists can track declining fertility in sperm quality, while demographic data uses the number of babies born compared to women of child-bearing age as a benchmark, according to National Geographic. (iStock)
Lead study author and epidemiologist Hagai Levine warned that this trend could lead to human extinction if it isn’t addressed.
“This is the canary in the coal mine,” Levine, public health physician at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health, told National Geographic. “It signifies that something is very wrong with our current environment, as lower sperm counts predict morbidity and mortality.”
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These findings have been contradicted by other studies, however. A 2025 Cleveland Clinic analysis of studies from the last 53 years found sperm counts to be steady.
“There is no evidence to suggest that this decline is the cause of a precipitous decline in the ability to cause pregnancies,” primary study author Scott Lundy, a reproductive urologist at Cleveland Clinic, told National Geographic. “Most men, even with a modest decline in sperm counts, will still have no issues conceiving.”
Potential factors of decline
Multiple lifestyle factors can lead to a decline in male fertility, Robles noted, including obesity, smoking and diet, as well as environmental exposures and delayed parenthood.
National Geographic also reported that heavy drinking and marijuana use directly contribute to declining fertility and that quitting these habits, while also exercising and losing weight, can help.
Smoking of any kind can contribute to a decline in fertility, according to experts. (iStock)
Systemic inflammation, infection and disease can also have a “big, profound effect on the current status of fertility,” Lundy told National Geographic.
Those who are getting over a fever from an infection, like the flu or COVID, will have a “drastically lower” sperm count for three months, he said.
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Male infertility can also be a marker of overall health, according to Robles. “Poor semen parameters are associated with other medical conditions and may signal underlying metabolic, hormonal or environmental issues,” he told Fox News Digital.
Experts recommend seeing a doctor to discuss fertility concerns instead of relying on the internet. (iStock)
Allan Pacey, deputy dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester, told National Geographic that the decline could be caused by increased use of contraception, as well as men waiting longer to have children or choosing not to have them at all.
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Microplastics have also been raised on social media as a potential culprit, but the effects are unclear, according to experts.
There is some evidence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals — which are substances found in reusable plastics and some disposable products — altering male fertility, Lundy revealed to National Geographic.
Myths busted
Concerns have circulated on social media that keeping a cellphone in a front pocket could harm male fertility. While Lundy said such an effect is biologically possible, there is currently no scientific evidence supporting the claim.
Another common myth is that infertility is mostly a women’s issue, Robles noted, but male factors contribute to about one-third to one-half of all cases.
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The claim that taking supplements can boost sperm counts is another common myth, he said, adding that it’s not backed by strong scientific evidence.
“Men should focus on factors that we know matter: maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol and managing chronic health conditions,” Robles advised.
One common myth is that infertility is mostly a women’s issue, but male factors contribute to about one-third to one-half of all cases. (iStock)
Experts recommend seeing a urologist to address fertility concerns. Robles said his approach begins with an evaluation, semen analysis, hormonal testing and medical history, while also exploring lifestyle factors.
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In addition to traditional treatment options, Robles said his fertility center also uses advanced tools that incorporate AI and robotics.
“Technologies like this are expanding options for patients who previously had very limited paths to biological parenthood,” he said.
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Specific bacteria in the gut could predict a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear, new research suggests.
Led by researchers from University College London (UCL), an observational study analyzed the gut microbes of 271 patients in the U.K. who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Also included in the study were 43 carriers of the GBA1 variant, which has been linked to an almost 30 times higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. These participants did not have symptoms of the disease. There was also a control group of 150 healthy participants without the gene.
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Based on fecal samples, more than one-quarter of gut microbes — bacteria and other microorganisms in the digestive tract — were in different amounts for people with Parkinson’s disease compared to healthy individuals, according to a press release.
Non-symptomatic people carrying the Parkinson’s gene also had microbial changes that resembled an “intermediate” stage of the disease, which suggests that microbial changes may happen prior to symptoms emerging.
Specific bacteria in the gut could predict a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear, new research suggests. (iStock)
Those who reported eating a more diverse and balanced diet were less likely to have microbiome patterns associated with higher Parkinson’s risk, the researchers found.
The findings, which were published in Nature Medicine, were also seen in over 1,400 participants across the U.K., Korea and Turkey, suggesting that the microbial changes are consistent across different cultures and dietary patterns.
“There is an urgent need to develop treatments that can stop or slow the disease’s progression.”
“Parkinson’s disease is a major cause of disability worldwide, and the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease in terms of prevalence and mortality,” lead author professor Anthony Schapira of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology said in the release.
“There is an urgent need to develop treatments that can stop or slow the disease’s progression.”
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Patients with Parkinson’s are known to have “significant gut abnormalities,” according to Dr. Earnest Lee Murray, a board-certified neurologist at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee.
One of those is severe constipation, which can occur several years before tremors and other symptoms.
Those who reported eating a more diverse and balanced diet were less likely to have microbiome patterns associated with higher Parkinson’s risk, the researchers found. (iStock)
“There has long been a theory about the gut-brain axis and whether or not the pathology for Parkinson’s starts in the gut decades before stereotypical features are noted,” Murray, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
The neurologist said the study sets the stage for additional research exploring the gut-brain axis theory, which could determine whether early pre-symptomatic treatments could prevent or mitigate the risk of developing Parkinson’s later in life.
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“With an aging population that is living longer, the prevalence of Parkinson’s is increasing significantly, which underscores the importance of studies like this that attempt to prevent this debilitating neurodegenerative disease,” Murray added.
“With an aging population that is living longer, the prevalence of Parkinson’s is increasing significantly,” according to Dr. Earnest Lee Murray. (iStock)
Dr. Aaron Ellenbogen, medical director of the Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Center at the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders, said it is not surprising that a change in the organisms living in the GI tract can be a signature of evolving Parkinson’s pathology.
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“In general, people with GBA mutations tend to have Parkinson’s symptoms evolve in a way that is more consistent with a gut-first presentation,” Ellenbogen, who also was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
Others may experience a different set of symptoms, including loss of sense of smell, before developing signs of motor Parkinson’s disease, he noted.
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“In fact, many of these people don’t develop the symptoms of constipation and REM behavior disorder until later in their disease course,” Ellenbogen said. “These people may actually have a form of Parkinson’s that starts in the brain.”
Potential limitations
There were some limitations to the study, the researchers acknowledged. Because it was observational in design, it could not prove that the microbiome changes directly caused Parkinson’s.
The researchers also noted that not everyone with at-risk microbiome profiles will develop the disease, as other genetic or environmental factors could play a role.
The researchers also noted that not everyone with at-risk microbiome profiles will develop the disease, as other genetic or environmental factors could play a role. (iStock)
Additionally, differences in microbiomes across various populations could skew the results.
“To enable both the research and eventual use of such treatments, we need to develop the means for very early detection of people who will, or likely will, go on to develop the disease,” Schapira said.
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The study was funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the UK Medical Research Council.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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