Xenobiotics and Male Infertility

There has been a significant increase in male infertility over the past three-quarters of the century. This time frame corresponds to one where dramatic increases in the use of pesticides and other synthetic chemicals have occurred. Many different chemicals have been associated with male infertility including pesticides, heavy metals, dioxins, PCBs, phthalates, and others. 

Male fertility depends upon normal development during the fetal period extending through childhood growth and puberty. Xenobiotic exposures after puberty can also affect fertility. 

Male infertility manifests in several ways. These include sex organ malformation, reduced sperm count, reduced level of seminal fluid, decreased libido, and testicular cancer. Discussions of these conditions, all of which have been attributed to xenobiotic influences (primarily by endocrine disruptors 41 ), follow. 

---