SWISS men have among the worst quality sperm in Europe, a study shows.
One in six have a concentration below 15million per millilitre of semen, the medical threshold for a low sperm count.
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Their sperm were also found to be poorly developed and unable to move well enough to get to and fertilise an egg.
Researcher Dr Alfred Senn said: “It is in a critical state and their future fertility will be affected.”
“With the current trend for couples to have children later in life, the low sperm count among young men in Switzerland – combined with the declining fertility of older women – will have an impact on conception rates and future generations.
“This will lead to significant social and financial challenges for our society.”
Having a low sperm count makes it harder to conceive naturally – and has also been linked to testicular cancer.
First author Rita Rahban, a doctoral candidate in genetics at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), said: “Low semen parameters values can reflect a man’s fertility. When a combination of values are low, a man’s ability to conceive is at risk.”
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Co author Dr Alfred Senn, a specialist in the male reproductive system at UNIGE, said: “We need to be cautious about a single semen analysis. It isn’t entirely predictive of a person’s fertility.
“But, in overall terms, the results suggest the sperm quality of young men in Switzerland is in a critical state and that their future fertility will in all likelihood be affected.”
