Male fertility linked to water pollution, says study

Decline in male fertility is linked to water pollution, a British study has suggested.

The study, by Brunel University, the Universities of Exeter and Reading and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, shows for the first time how a group of testosterone-blocking chemicals is finding its way into UK rivers, affecting wildlife and potentially humans.

According to the Science Daily online, other studies have also suggested a link between this phenomenon and the increase in human male fertility problems caused by testicular dysgenesis syndrome.

Susan Jobling, who has been working intensively in this field for over ten years said “the new research findings illustrate the complexities in unraveling chemical causation of adverse health effects in wildlife populations and re-open the possibility of a human - wildlife connection in which effects seen in wild fish and in humans are caused by similar combinations of chemicals.”