Global Decline In Sperm Count Could Mean Men Aren't Able To Father Children Unassisted By 2050
One of the most important social issues happening around the globe isn't being talked about. There's a global decline of sperm count, which could result in some serious reproductive challenges by 2050.
The topic of the birth rate in the US has been brought up a few times in the public conversation in the last year, particularly highlighted by Tesla founder and Twitter CEO Elon Musk. The birth rate has plummeted over the last 50 years; in the 1950s, women had a birth rate of 3.6 and by 2020 that number fell to 1.6. The 2022 UN World Population Prospects found that the global fertility rate dropped from 3.3 in 1990 to 2.1 in 2021, proving that this isn't just a domestic issue. New literature reveals that men are also on the path to have some serious reproductive issues in the future.
Global Decline in Sperm Count Could Mean Men Aren't Able to Father Children Unassisted by 2050
Twitter user Ben Wilson shared a meta-analysis from the Human Reproduction Update journal titled "Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of samples collected globally in the 20th and 21st centuries." It reviewed the information found in numerous studies that looked at semen quality and total sperm count.
"Sperm reduction is not localized," Ben tweets. "50% reduction in avg sperm count since 1973 [sic]. Following this trend, the average man will not be able to have children unassisted by 2050."
The meta-analysis reviews many studies in North America, Europe, and Australia during the years 1981-2013. There weren't enough studies from South/Central America, Asia, and Africa to be included in a reliable way. The sperm concentration decreased 51.6% between 1973 and 2018, and the total sperm count declined 62.3% overall. If these numbers continue, there will be some serious reproductive challenges around the globe in a few decades.
"This is like a top 5 most important issue affecting humanity and it is virtually never discussed, no serious policy proposals made," Ben continues. "I just don't understand it."
If anything, we're encouraged by mainstream culture to have fewer children. If the quality of sperm and the total sperm count continues to decline while also being fed an anti-children message from society, our future is bleak to say the least.
There's no doubt that this is connected to the decline of general health that we're witnessing all over Western countries like the US and the UK. The first thing men have to do if they want to increase the quality of their sperm and thus improve their likelihood for reproduction is change their diet and lifestyle. Ben points out that the current trend of sperm count could result in men being unable to reproduce unassisted by the year 2050, and this is a serious issue if we want to perpetuate the human race.