WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Pesticide exposure appears to be linked to lower sperm concentrations in men world wide, a brand new large-scale evidence review has concluded.

A review of 25 studies spanning nearly 50 years found consistent links between lower sperm concentrations and two widely used classes of insecticides, organophosphates and N-methyl carbamates, researchers said.

“This review is essentially the most comprehensive review to this point,” said senior researcher Melissa Perry, dean of the George Mason University College of Public Health in Fairfax, Va. “The evidence available has reached a degree that we must take regulatory motion to cut back insecticide exposure.”

Perry’s team systematically reviewed 25 human studies of occupational and environmental insecticide exposure, conducted over the past half-century.

The findings, published Nov. 15 within the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, revealed evidence of strong associations between insecticide exposure and lower sperm concentration.

“Understanding how insecticides affect sperm concentration in humans is critical given their ubiquity within the environment and documented reproductive hazards,” said co-researcher Lauren Ellis, a doctoral student at Northeastern University. “Insecticides are a priority for public health and all men, who’re exposed primarily through the consumption of contaminated food and water.”

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on healthy sperm.

SOURCE: George Mason University, news release, Nov. 15, 2023