Page 37 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 11

WHOLENESS

plastics and even soybeans. lower fertility rates even prior to represent a syndrome - a testicular
cancer development. The incidence dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) - caused
Shakkebaek first highlighted the is- of TGC has been increasing over by a common underlying causal
sue during a mini symposium at the the past 40 to 50 years in the major- factor, which is either a change in
European Medical Research Coun- ity of industrialized countries coin- lifestyle or an environmental toxin,
cils plenary meeting in Strasbourg cidentally with the declining trend especially endocrine disrupting
in 2009. Semen quality has been in semen quality. TGC is initiated chemicals such as pesticides. No-
declining in the past half century. In during foetal development. The re- tably, the review published by the
men without fertility problems, aver- gional differences in TGC incidence European Science Foundation (an
age sperm count dropped from 113 in Europe follow the same pattern official body that coordinates inter-
x 106 to 66 x 106/ml. About 20 % as observed for semen quality. national research programmes in
of young men in various European Europe) fails to mention glyphosate
countries have sperm counts below Congenital malformations of the explicitly, even though its use has
the WHO (World Health Organi- male reproductive tract – unde- been rising most rapidly among pes-
zation) reference level of 2o m/ml, scended testis and incomplete fusion ticides in Europe and in the rest of
and 40 % of have levels below 40 of the urethral folds that form the the world since the 1980s to 1990s.
m/ml associated with prolonging penis – are among the most fre-
the time to pregnancy [2]. Con- quent congenital malformations in Age-independent testos-
comitantly, the demand for assisted human males. These two abnormali- terone decline reflects rise
reproductive technology (ART) is ties share common risk factors, both in glyphosate use with GM
growing. In Denmark, more than 7 associated with reduced fertility; the
% of all children born in 2007 were first malformation is also associ- crops.
conceived using ART. ated with poor semen quality and In America, there has been a sub-
considerably increased risk of TGC. stantial age-independent decline in
There are geographical differenc- Incidences of these malformations testosterone that does not appear
es in semen quality. Finnish men appear to have been increasing attributable to observed changes in
have 35 % higher sperm counts in the Western world over recent explanatory factors including health
than Danish men, while Scottish decades. status and lifestyle characteristics
and French sperm counts are in such as smoking and obesity. The
between. Japanese sperm counts Testosterone, the male hormone, estimated declines were larger than
are as low as those of the Danes, is the major driver of male repro- the cross sectional declines typically
and Singapore men have even lower ductive development and function. associated with age, as shown in
sperm counts. Suppression of its levels within the Figure 1 [3].
adult testis shuts down spermato-
The trend in semen quality has genesis and induces infertility. Stud-
implications for health in general, as ies of men with idiopathic infertility
men with poor semen quality seem – for which the cause is unknown
to have increased mortality rates and - and low sperm counts often show
shorter life expectancy. Infertility is evidence of abnormal Leydig cells,
also closely linked to several dys- which produce testosterone in the
functions and abnormalities of male testis.
reproductive organs that have been
rising concomitantly with infertility. In Europe, incidences of TGC and
congenital reproductive tract mal-
Infertility trend associated formations have been going up co-
with testicular germ cell incidentally with a downward trend
cancer, congenital malfor- in semen quality and testosterone
mations & low testosterone levels (although there are only data
for the latter in Denmark). These
Testicular germ cell cancer (TGC) disorders share common risk factors Figure 1 Age-independent decline
is the commonest cancer in young and are risk factors for one another. in serum testosterone in America
men in many countries, associated Consequently, it has been proposed
with impaired semen quality and that the conditions collectively may The data are from randomly selected

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