Environmental/lifestyle effects on spermatogenesis

Abstract

The high incidence of low sperm counts in young (European) men and evidence for declining sperm counts in recent decades mean that the environmental/lifestyle impact on spermatogenesis is an important health issue. This review assesses potential causes involving adverse effects on testis development in perinatal life (primarily effects on Sertoli cell number), which are probably irreversible, or effects on the process of spermatogenesis in adulthood, which are probably mainly reversible. Several lifestyle-related (obesity, smoking) and environmental (exposure to traffic exhaust fumes, dioxins, combustion products) factors appear to negatively affect both the perinatal and adult testes, emphasizing the importance of environmental/lifestyle impacts throughout the life course. Apart from this, public concern about adverse effects of environmental chemicals (ECs) (pesticides, food additives, persistent pollutants such as DDT, polychlorinated biphenyls) on spermatogenesis in adult men are, in general, not supported by the available data for humans. Where adverse effects of ECs have been shown, they are usually in an occupational setting rather than applying to the general population. In contrast, a modern Western lifestyle (sedentary work/lifestyle, obesity) is potentially damaging to sperm production. Spermatogenesis in normal men is poorly organized and inefficient so that men are poorly placed to cope with environmental/lifestyle insults.