2023-05-15 08:30:12
In most countries, male infertility is increasing annually. And researchers now think they can explain this upward trend.
Unfortunately, having children is not a matter of course for everyone who wants to. Worldwide, as many as 186 million people cannot have children. And in about half of all cases, the fertility problems are due to the man. However, the underlying reason often remains puzzling. But researchers have now found an explanation for it. And the answer lies in youth.
Male infertility
More and more men are experiencing fertility problems these days. For example, research has shown an increase of about 0.291 percent per year, with an upward trend in most countries. “More worryingly, a recent study has revealed a global decline in sperm counts in seminal fluid,” said lead researcher Rossella Cannarella. Scientias.nl. “In particular, the researchers showed that, compared to four decades ago, sperm production has now halved. And if this continues, it could drop even further in the near future. These are alarming data that threaten the reproduction of the human species.”
Lifestyle
This increasing male infertility could possibly be due to the deteriorating environmental conditions and lifestyle of the global population over the past century. For example, various environmental conditions (including greater exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals) and personal habits (such as a sedentary lifestyle or eating disorders) have changed dramatically in recent decades. Parallel to the decrease in the number of sperm cells, the number of overweight children worldwide has also increased from 32 million to 42 million. It is expected that about 60 percent of today’s children will be obese by the time they reach their 35th birthday.
Slow
Whether this could explain the increasing male infertility was not really clear until now. The search for the causes of male infertility has been slow compared to that of female infertility. “In recent years, however, we have seen a renaissance in male infertility research,” says Cannarella. “And that has also led to the fact that we can now conduct this research.”
Study
Cannarella and her colleagues studied 268 children and young people to find out to what extent an unhealthy lifestyle is behind the increase in male infertility. They collected data on their age, testicular volume (the size of the testicles, or testicles), Body Mass Index (an internationally used measure that shows whether you have a healthy weight in relation to your height), and insulin resistance (where cells in the become less sensitive to insulin, which can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes).
Testicular volume
The results show that overweight boys tend to have lower testicular volume compared to normal-weight boys. In addition, children with a too high insulin level have a 1.5 to 2 times smaller testicular volume than children with a normal insulin level. In short, overweight boys and boys with insulin resistance are more likely to have lower testicular volume than their healthy peers. And since a lower testicular volume may be associated with poorer sperm production in adulthood, the researchers conclude that this puts them at a higher risk of becoming infertile later in life.
Relationship between obesity and infertility
How exactly does this relationship work? “During childhood, the testicle has a different ‘composition’ than in adulthood,” Cannarella explains when asked. “This has to do with the so-called sertoli cells (cells in the testicle that guide the maturation of sperm cells, ed.). These cells multiply in childhood, while they lose this ability in puberty and, above all, begin to stimulate the production of spermatozoa. Each sertoli cell stimulates the production of a certain number of sperm cells. This means that a low number of sertoli cells during puberty results in a low number of sperm cells produced in adulthood. Environmental conditions and lifestyles (for example, exposure to chemicals, pollutants, smoking, and obesity) can interfere with sertoli cell proliferation in childhood. And this may lead to irreversibly low sperm production in adulthood. In short, overweight, obesity and metabolic disorders in childhood could therefore lead to infertility by impairing sertoli cell proliferation.”
Weight loss
According to the researchers, we can draw important lessons from the study. For example, they argue that better control of children’s body weight could help prevent infertility later in life. “Our findings hopefully lead to greater awareness among pediatricians and parents alike,” says Cannarella. “Pediatricians will need to carefully evaluate testicular volume growth and diagnose any abnormalities early in healthy, normal-weight children. In addition, it is important that parents provide good nutrition and sufficient exercise.”
Science
But the study is also very relevant for science. “The function of the testicle in childhood is completely unknown today,” says Cannarella. “We don’t know what testicular volume growth should look like ‘normally’ – and that’s the first problem pediatricians face. Therefore, more studies are needed to evaluate testicular growth and function over time in obese children. We therefore hope that our results form the starting point for conducting new studies.”
All in all, the researchers show with their study how disastrous obesity is in children. It has far-reaching consequences, which can be felt even in adulthood and can prevent a child’s wish from being fulfilled. “Parents will therefore have to ensure that their children lead a healthy lifestyle,” Cannarella argues. “Not only to guide them towards good cardiovascular health, but also so that they can provide new life later in life.”
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