A team of researchers led by Lauren Ellis, MPH, doctoral student in Population Health at Northeastern University, found in a new systematic review that there is a strong association between insecticide exposure and lower sperm concentration in adult men globally. To the reviewers’ knowledge, this is the most comprehensive systematic review on this topic to date, synthesizing nearly five decades of epidemiological literature.
The team reviewed 25 studies of environmental and occupational exposure to two widely used insecticide classes—organophosphates (OPs) and N-methyl carbamates (NMCs)—and found consistent associations with lower sperm concentration, which warrants concern, particularly in light of observed downward trends in semen quality demonstrated by other studies. OPs and NMCs are among the most widely used pesticides in the world.
You can read the full study titled “Adult Organophosphate and Carbamate Insecticide Exposure and Sperm Concentration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Epidemiological Evidence” on Environmental Health Perspectives: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP12678.