Falling sperm count in French men boosts fertility concerns

PARIS (AFP) - The sperm count of French men plunged by a third between 1989 and 2005, a finding which fuels concern that environmental pollutants or lifestyle are crimping fertility, scientists said on Wednesday.

Exceptional in scope, the study is believed to be the first country-wide, long-term probe into sperm quality, the team said.

"This constitutes a serious public health warning. The link with the environment particularly needs to be determined," they warned in the European journal Human Reproduction.

Researchers examined data for semen samples provided by 26,609 men at 126 in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) centres in France over 17 years.