JERUSALEM — A study has revealed that there has been a sharp decrease in the sperm count of Western men over the last 40 years. <br /> <br />The study followed 42,935 men who provided semen samples in the years between 1973 and 2011. It was published in the journal Human Reproduction Update. <br /> <br />The results show a 59.3% decline in total sperm count in men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, whereas no significant decline was found in South America, Asia and Africa. <br /> <br />"If we will not change the ways that we are living and the environment and the chemicals that we are exposed to, I am very worried about what will happen in the future," Dr Hagai Levine, an epidemiologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the author of the study told the BBC. <br /> <br />There is no clear reason for the apparent decrease but it is perhaps linked with body weight, smoking and lack of physical activity, according to the BBC. <br /> <br />Some have expressed skepticism over the findings, and suggest the tests don't accurately account for men suffering from infertility problems. Other industry experts say studies that claim to show a decline in sperm counts are more likely to get published than those that do not, which, if true, would indicate the public is getting skewed information.
