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Trends in Male Reproductive Health and Decreasing Fertility: Possible Influence of Endocrine Disrupters

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Low Fertility and Reproductive Health in East Asia

Part of the book series: International Studies in Population ((ISIP,volume 11))

Abstract

Within recent decades, adverse trends in male reproductive health have become increasingly evident. In many countries the incidence of testicular cancer has been growing along with an apparent increase in incidences of congenital malformations in the male reproductive tract and a decline in sperm quality. There are, however, large geographical variations in these trends. At the same time, fertility rates have declined drastically and are now below replacement level in many parts of the world. This decline is, without doubt, due primarily to changes in social and economic conditions, but it may also be partly due to a decrease in the ability to conceive. The rapid increase in male reproductive problems and the geographical variations indicate that environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, or both, rather than genetic factors, are important contributors. In particular, there is concern about environmental chemicals with endocrine-disrupting properties, which are suspected of having the ability to disturb the development of reproductive organs during fetal life.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Tina Harmer Lassen, Tina Kold Jensen & Niels E. Skakkebæk

  2. Division of Male Infertility, Center for Infertility and IVF, International University of Health and Welfare Hospital, Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan

    Teruaki Iwamoto

  3. Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Tina Kold Jensen

Authors
  1. Tina Harmer Lassen
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  2. Teruaki Iwamoto
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  3. Tina Kold Jensen
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  4. Niels E. Skakkebæk
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Niels E. Skakkebæk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Population Research Institute and College of Economics, Nihon University, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Naohiro Ogawa

  2. Department of Global Health and Population Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Iqbal H. Shah

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Lassen, T.H., Iwamoto, T., Jensen, T.K., Skakkebæk, N.E. (2015). Trends in Male Reproductive Health and Decreasing Fertility: Possible Influence of Endocrine Disrupters. In: Ogawa, N., Shah, I. (eds) Low Fertility and Reproductive Health in East Asia. International Studies in Population, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9226-4_7

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