A new study examines semen samples taken from various US states to know which states have the best and worst average sperm counts.
Male Infertility Concerns in the US
In the past decades, male infertility has become quite a rising concern across the US. Sperm counts have been found to decline by more than 50% in the last five decades. Having a low sperm count reduces one's chances of having sperm that could fertilize the egg of a partner, which leads to pregnancy.
Khaled Kteily, the CEO of Legacy, a sperm testing and freezing firm, explains that everyone with sperm should be worried at present. The CEO adds that a fertility crisis is currently ongoing and that bigger global studies have shown that the quality and counts of sperm have been decreasing.
However, Kteily says that this plummet is not apparently consistent in the US, adding that sperm quality may vary depending on one's health and place of residence.
Different environmental factors can impact sperm quality. Air quality, temperature, diet, and exposure to chemical pesticides have all been associated with lower sperm counts.
Read also: Male Infertility: Scientists Discover One Underlying Reason Why Some Men Cannot Make Sperm
Sperm Count in the US
To learn more about the variations of sperm count across the US, researchers examined 22,000 samples of semen tested at Legacy labs and calculated each state's average sperm count.
Sperm concentrations between individuals could vary widely. They may range from 15 million per milliliter to more than 200 million. Any levels below 15 million are classified as low sperm count or oligospermia. The total absence of sperm is known as azoospermia.
After examining the data taken from Washington D.C. and all 48 contiguous states, the researchers found that the areas with the lowest sperm count were Delaware (30.7 million/mL), North Dakota (30.2 million/mL), Oklahoma (29.1 million/mL), South Carolina (28.9 million/mL) and Mississippi (25.7 million/mL).
On the other hand, states that had the highest sperm counts on average were Washington, D.C. (49.1 million/mL), Iowa (51.3 million/mL), Montana (54.4 million/mL), Idaho (55.6 million/mL), and Wyoming (56.8 million/mL).
Kteily explains that individuals who reside in areas that have a heightened exposure to environmental factors, such as hot temperatures and poor air quality, that could affect sperm should consider taking extra precautions for the sake of their fertility. However, living in a state with a sperm count that is low average does not put a person at risk. Sperm count is also not the sole metric for male fertility.
The CEO notes that other factors should be considered and assessed. Lifestyle and environmental factors could impact the concentration of sperm, consequently compounding the effects. It is crucial to undergo a comprehensive semen analysis to learn more about such metrics and gain an in-depth view of a person's fertility.
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