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Seminal Decline in Semen Quality in Humans Over the Last 80 years

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Male Infertility: Understanding, Causes and Treatment

Abstract

During the later half of the twentieth century, there have been scientific debates over a decline in semen quality in past decades. Several studies from all over the world have reported a deterioration in semen quality. Interestingly, the reports of decline are contrasted by only a few studies. At the same time, there are reports of an increase in the incidence of other reproductive system malfunctions, such as testicular cancer, hypospadias, and cryptorchidism. Exposure to estrogenic, antiandrogenic, and maternal lifestyle factors during the fetal period are supposed to contribute to the temporal decline. In this chapter, we have presented a comprehensive review by highlighting the top time course studies reporting instability of semen quality. We have also discussed the putative factors responsible for this decline with an eye on transgenerational impact on human fertility.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Government of India for financial help under the network project, PROGRAM (BSC0101).

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  1. Male Reproductive Biology Laboratory, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Priyanka Mishra & Rajender Singh

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  1. Priyanka Mishra
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  1. Endocrinology Division, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    RAJENDER SINGH

  2. Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Kiran Singh

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Mishra, P., Singh, R. (2017). Seminal Decline in Semen Quality in Humans Over the Last 80 years. In: SINGH, R., Singh, K. (eds) Male Infertility: Understanding, Causes and Treatment. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4017-7_7

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