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The journal Reproduction has just published the results of a study conducted by the InVS on the spatiotemporal trends in sperm quality in France (abstract here). This work builds on the study conducted by the Institute and published in December 2012 in the journal Human Reproduction (free access to the article here). That initial study concluded that sperm quality in France (sperm concentration and morphology) had declined in a sample representative of the general population (26,000 men) between 1989 and 2005. The results show that sperm concentration and morphological quality have declined in nearly all regions, with a more significant decrease in Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées. Sperm motility, on the other hand, has increased slightly across all regions except Burgundy, which shows the opposite trend. The overall similarity of the trends observed across regions suggests the involvement of a factor that likely affected nearly the entire population. One possible explanation is the population’s increasing exposure to endocrine disruptors since the 1950s. The regions where the trends toward declining concentration and morphological quality are most pronounced are also regions with significant wine-growing activity, which may be the source of occupational or environmental exposure to pesticides.

Ultimately, this study confirms the decline in sperm concentration and morphological quality across most metropolitan regions. For more information, see the InVS thematic dossier on "human reproduction and the environment" (here)