Study seeks to explain drop in male births (David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post)
A30-year decline in the percentage of male births is raising concern.
A new study says environmental and other factors may be affecting conception of male embryos and hindering the health of male fetuses.
A30-year decline in the percentage of male births is raising concern.
A new study says environmental and other factors may be affecting conception of male embryos and hindering the health of male fetuses.
Devra Lee Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said her study, which included researchers from the United States and Japan, shows that "male reproductive health is in trouble.", researchers suspect a similar problem in all industrialized nations. Reasons for the trend are still under study, but evidence points to exposure to environmental contaminants of various kinds.
Annie Sasco, a cancer epidemiologist in Bordeaux, France, who has read the study, said people should avoid exposure to environmental contaminants, including growth hormones in American-grown beef. She also recommended avoiding pesticides and contaminants in plastics that can produce a hormonal effect and have impact on sex ratio.
"This study should tell us that if you don't want to see diseases increase, we should be more stringent with contamination of the environment and with products that are carcinogens or endocrine disrupters," Dr. Sasco said. "There is a need for regulatory aspects to reduce the presence of these contaminants in what we eat, breathe and are exposed to."
Read more from David Templeton of Pittsburgh Post here.
