Sperm Counts Are on the Decline. Is the Human Race in Danger?

There's a lot the "sperm crisis" can tell us about men’s reproductive health.

By Nathaniel Scharping
May 1, 2021 5:00 PMMar 21, 2023 8:16 PM
Sperm Stock
(Credit: WHITE MARKERS/Shutterstock)

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

In 2017, something fairly unprecedented happened in regards to male reproductive health: People actually started talking about it.

What kicked off the fracas was an alarming paper in the journal Human Reproduction Update claiming that men’s sperm counts were just half of what they once had been.The study was a meta-review of research looking at sperm counts over the past four decades, and it included 185 studies that encompassed more than 40,000 men. Between 1973 and 2011, the paper’s authors concluded, the men’s sperm counts fell by more than 50 percent. The trend wasn’t leveling off, either. The authors conclude that “research on the causes of this continuing decline is urgently needed,” a fairly intense rallying cry in the strait-laced world of academic publishing.

The paper kicked off a frenzy of media coverage on the so-called “sperm crisis,” with journalists asking whether we might someday soon find ourselves in Children of Men territory. The 2006 sci-fi thriller depicts a world where human reproduction has ceased entirely, with apocalyptic results.

0 free articles left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

0 free articlesSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

Stay Curious

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and unlock one more article for free.

 

View our Privacy Policy


Want more?
Keep reading for as low as $1.99!


Log In or Register

Already a subscriber?
Find my Subscription

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2024 Kalmbach Media Co.