14 DAY TRIAL // According to the conclusions of a new study from researchers at the University of Glasgow, it would appear that a subgroup of the male population is at risk of losing fertility due to chemicals usually present in the atmosphere.
Working together with colleagues in Edinburgh, the James Hutton Institute, the University of Aberdeen and INRA, in France, the team was able to determine that the chemicals in question are present in the air around us most of the time.
There are numerous substances to which we are exposed, willingly or unwillingly, every single day. These range from cosmetics and detergents to pollutants created by traffic or various plants. Many pollutants are also known to cause severe health problems, such as asthma and lung cancer.
In the vast majority of cases, these substances influence the human body by hampering physiological processes and cycles that usually take place within cells. In past investigations, scientists have argued that prolonged exposure to environmental chemicals is a factor contributing to low sperm count.
This problem affects men around the world, and is one of the primary reasons why so many women have to resort to in-vitro fertilization to conceive children. In the new study, experts analyzed sheep exposed to common chemicals, as proxies for human males.
“We were very surprised to find abnormalities that could result in low sperm counts in the testicles in 42 [percent] of the animals,” says University of Glasgow investigator, Dr. Michelle Bellingham.
But one of the most interesting results the study provided was that exposure to these chemicals did not affect all sheep equally. Furthermore, the concentration of male hormones, such as testosterone, in the bloodstream could not be used as an indicator for determining which animals were most likely to exhibit low-fertility.
“The key now is to work out why these everyday chemicals affect some individuals more than others,” explains University of Aberdeen investigator and study team member, professor Paul Fowler.
“These findings emphasize that even when the concentration of single chemicals in the environment may be very low, it is hard to predict what the health effects are when an individual is exposed to a mixture of chemicals,” explains UG expert, professor Neil Evans.
Common, environmental chemical mixtures are causing negative side effects on the reproductive organs of both males and females, the team says. A growing body of evidences is currently standing by this claim, which definitely warrants further investigation.