Toxins plus climate harms likely cause of reduced fertility, study finds
Simultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate change’s impacts likely generates an additive or synergistic effect that increases reproductive harm, and may contribute to the broad global drop in fertility, new peer-reviewed research finds .The review of scientific literature considers how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, often found in plastic, coupled with climate change’s effects, such as heat stress, are each linked to reductions in fertility and fecundity across global species – including in humans, wildlife and invertebrates.
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Shanna Swan, a co-author on the new paper, co-produced a groundbreaking 2017 study that found sperm levels among men in western countries had plummeted by more than 50% over four decades. Human fertility has been diminishing at a similar rate, other research has shown. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation previously found the world was approaching a “low-fertility future”, with more than three quarters of countries below replacement rate by 2050.
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Brander noted how these chemicals’ harms are often the same across organisms, from invertebrates to humans. Phthalates, for example, have been linked to altered sperm shape in invertebrates, spermatogenesis in rodents, and reduced sperm counts in humans. Similarly, Pfas are thought to impact sperm quality, and both are linked to hormone disruption.
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Similarly, many endocrine disruptors may alter environmental sex determination. The solution to the systemic problems would involve reining in climate change and reducing the use of toxic chemicals. The study cites the global reduction of the use of DDT and PCBs achieved under the Stockholm convention as an example of an effective measure, but much more is needed, Brander said.