Top Story: Why an international coalition of doctors say male infertility is becoming a crisis

According to the World Health Organization, one in six heterosexual couples are struggling to conceive. For many years, the focus has been on female infertility and treatments for women, while little has been done for men. A team of international researchers are now urging governments and health systems across the globe to recognize male infertility as a crisis.

The most visible indicator is declining sperm counts worldwide, according to Christopher De Jonge, PhD, adjunct professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and co-founder of Male Reproductive Health Initiative (MRHI). “[Being] overweight, smoking, those are all part of disrupting what would be optimal reproductive health,” he said. “Cigarettes, smoking, for example, can actually have an impact on the DNA – those pieces that create who each of us are as an individual and in our offspring – and it can take that DNA and cause it to be cut up into pieces, which is clearly an abnormal situation.”

Dr. De Jonge says it is important to be aware of your body and your health as well as have an annual physical exam, which gives the opportunity for early detection and early intervention.

You can read more and listen to Dr. De Jonge’s interview with Minnesota Public Radio here.