SPERM counts have plummeted by nearly two-thirds since the 70s, a major study reveals.

Humans could become extinct, experts warn as they blame modern living for damaging male fertility and warn the shocking findings are a “wake-up call”.

3 Sperm counts have plummeted by 59 per cent in the last four decades, experts have warned Credit: Getty Images

Scientists claim chemicals in plastics, pesticides, poor diet, smoking and obesity are all harming blokes’ sperm.

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem reviewed 185 studies involving 43,000 men.

They found fellas in Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand have seen their sperm concentration fall by 52 per cent in the past four decades.

And sperm counts have dropped by 59 per cent in the same period.

It means growing numbers of young Brit men are now infertile – and more couples failing to conceive naturally.

One in six UK couples struggle to get pregnant.

3 Experts have blamed modern living, including smoking, for the drop in sperm counts and said it's damaging male fertility Credit: Getty Images

And more than two per cent of babies in the UK are conceived annually through IVF – around 13,000 in England and Wales alone.

But researchers found blokes in South America, Asia and Africa have been unaffected.

The findings are published in the journal Human Reproduction Update.

Study lead Dr Hagai Levine said: “If we will not change the ways that we are living and the environment and chemicals that we are exposed to, I am very worried about what will happen in the future.

Eventually we may have a problem, and with reproduction in general, and it may be the extinction of the human species Dr Hagai Levine

"Eventually we may have a problem, and with reproduction in general, and it may be the extinction of the human species.

"This study is an urgent wake-up call for researchers and health authorities around the world to investigate the causes of the sharp ongoing drop in sperm count.”

And fellow researcher Dr Shanna H Swan, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, said: “Decreasing sperm count has been of great concern since it was first reported twenty-five years ago.

“This definitive study shows that this decline is strong and continuing.

“The fact that the decline is seen in Western countries strongly suggests that chemicals in commerce are playing a causal role in this trend.”

Scientists said poor sperm count is the “canary in the coal mine” and suggests overall male health is declining.

3 Scientists claim chemicals in plastics, pesticides, poor diet, smoking and obesity are all harming blokes’ sperm Credit: Getty Images

It has been linked to higher risk of testicular cancer.

Prof Richard Sharpe, from the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at Edinburgh University, said more than 15 per cent of young men in Britain now have a low sperm count.

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He said: “This is likely to get worse rather than better as we move forwards in time.

“Looking ahead, I can only conclude that couple infertility is set to increase.”

Professor Daniel Brison, Scientific Director of the Department of Reproductive Medicine at Manchester University, said the findings were “shocking”.

He said: “This study should act as a wake-up call.”

WHY IS SPERM COUNT GOING DOWN? Chemicals in plastics Men may be suffering damage to their testicles before they are even born if their mums are exposed to hormone-disrupting chemicals called pthalates while pregnant. They are found in many plastics and food containers.



Pesticides A Harvard University study found pesticides left on food were found to slash a man’s sperm count by up to half. They also had 32 per cent fewer swimmers that were normally formed. Scientists suggested good rinsing of food or going organic may help a couple conceive.



Smoking Heavy smokers see their sperm count reduced by around 28 per cent. Toxins from tobacco can affect sperm development and function, increasing a blokes chance of infertility.



Obesity One US study found fat blokes have a 22 per cent lower sperm count. But regular exercise boosts sperm quality in couch potatoes, experts claim. Scientists found jogging for just 25 to 45 minutes three to five times a week increases their numbers by more than a fifth. Experts said physical activity combats oxidative stress – where harmful molecules damage sperm

But Britain’s leading male fertility expert Professor Allan Pacey, from Sheffield University, said there is no reason to panic.

Despite the reported drop in sperm counts, most blokes still have “normal” levels.

The average man has gone from having 99 million per millilitre of semen to 47 million.

A low sperm count is where a man has fewer than 15 million per ml.

Prof Pacey added it was too premature to draw any hard conclusions from the study.

Past research has suggested boys born to infertile dads via IVF are more likely to have low sperm counts.

Experts found blokes conceived using the fertility technique are up to three times more likely to have poor sperm counts.