Factors that affect male fertility

According to the prediction by WHO, sterility and infertility will become the third disease followed by cancer and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by 21 st century. At present, the incidence of voluntary sterility is at 7%-46% all over the world, however, the accepted rate is 8%-15% in spite of local difference, and this figure have risen since the end of 70s and the beginning of 80s.

By 90s, the incidence of sterility has increased by several times compared with that of 70s, reaching about 8%-10%, even 15% in some of regions. The number of sterility patients increased followed by the industrialization process. Why did the incidence increase in spite of the increasingly improved medical service?

1 The environment destroys people's fertility

The closest factor of sterility is the environmental changes to which people expose and depend on.

Today, human expose to various chemicals in their daily activities. These chemicals that affect human and other creatures (mainly refers to animals) are known as “environmental hormone”, functioning similar to estrogen inside the human body, which directly affect the fertility of men and women. Currently, over hundred of chemicals with which human closely contact have been determined to have the function mentioned above, which exist in substances such as plastics, plastic foams (white pollution), scours, bitumen, some additives and decorations based on chemical materials. They mainly pollute water and enter into the food chain through water, consequently directly do harm to human by affecting their fertility.

2 Difficulties in child-bearing caused by infection

Another mayor cause of difficulty in child-bearing is infection. Even clinicians don't have enough understanding of the consequence of sexual transmitted diseases that cause male and female sterility. The major cause of female sterility related to sexual transmitted pathogens is some pelvic inflammatory diseases, such as adhesion of uterine cavity, coarctation of unerine neck, blockage, adhesion in oviduct, as well as functional limitation of fimbria. These factors make up of 50% the direct cause of female sterility. The mayor causes of male sterility include parasexual gland inflammation and infracted aspermatism. Inflammation may directly affect the activity and capacity of insemination of sperm, and the toxin produced from inflammation may also disturb the insemination potential. In America , 40%-50% of the women suffered with active pelvic inflammatory disease may have positive result of diplococcus gonorrhoeae test in grume in unerine neck; 20%-50% of the women uffered with pelvic inflammatory disease are infected with Chlamydia in countries like Finland , Sweden , England , and America . In china, 15%-20% of normal people are infected with mycoplasma, and 30%-50% of the sterility patients are infected with mycoplasma. These sexual transmitted diseases may have other route of transmission in china apart from “sex”, which is relate to sanitary condition and lifestyle of Chinese people.

3. Reproductive health has been long neglected

Currently, adolescence comes ahead of schedule and child-bearing age commonly delays compared with that of the past, which has brought about many problems. A national survey involving 29 provinces, cites and municipalities in 1999 showed that the average age of menarche is 13, and menarche appears earliest in 8, 9 years old; 40%-50% of male juvenile above 14 years old have already experienced the first apontaneous emission, averaging 15 years old, with the earliest in 10 years old. However, the spot check on national population and reproductive health showed that the average age of women's first marrage was 23.4 (higher in cities), number of women who have their first marriage after 23 years old accounted for 59.4%. Thus it can be seen that it takes 10 years for most women to get married since sexual maturity (the same as men). During these 10 or more than 10 years, how each adolescence mature in the following aspects including sexual hygiene, sexual physiology, sexual psychology, sexual orientation, sexual morality, sexual health, will have a incomparable influence on fertility throughout his or her life.

4. Other factors affecting fertility

The influence by social and psychological factors on sterility and infertility has been attached great importance to. As the social life rhythm has speeded up, the consequent pressures and emotions directly affect the biological clock of the human body which causes disorders endocrine system. Lifestyle, dietary habit, public health resources and conditions etc, also have direct and indirect influence on us through endocrine system and metabolism of the body. Results of experiments show that the fertility in high level of nutrition condition is evidently lower than that in basic nutrition condition.

In a word, the rise of number in sterility and infertility is a common result of many factors, which should arouse people's awareness.