Low sperm count is an indicator of the presence of disease

Dr Shanna Swan, professor of environmental medicine and public health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

Shanna Swan’s recent book has a comprehensive name: Count Down: How our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male And Female Reproductive Development And Imperiling The Human Race. “It is no longer business as usual when it comes to human reproduction,” she writes. “We are living in an age of reproductive reckoning that is having reverberating effects across the planet.” In 2017, the environmental and reproductive epidemiologist documented how the average sperm count among men in the west had more than halved in nearly 40 years.

In her book, she talks about how chemicals in our environment are endangering the sexual health of both men and women, thereby affecting their ability to conceive naturally. In recent years, she explains, we have witnessed an increasing number of babies born with smaller penises, higher rates of erectile dysfunction, and girls hitting puberty early. This is just the beginning, she says. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/Your study on low sperm count and your book have created quite a stir. Did it lead to any policy overhaul on chemical exposure in the US?

A/ No. It is difficult, but not impossible. There are many companies now that are expressing commitment to making safer products. We need more public pressure to press for change and move away from these hazardous chemicals. We need chemicals that are not hormonally active and this is difficult because there are many hormones in the body and testing the chemicals to be free of hormonal action is difficult. But I think we can do it.

Q/You say that the sperm count could hit zero by 2045.