Swiss men in rural regions have poorer sperm quality
Keystone-SDA
The sperm quality of young men in Switzerland differs depending on where they live. Men from rural areas have poorer sperm quality than those from cities.
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This is the conclusion of a study published in September in the specialist journal Human Reproduction, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
For the study, a research team from the University of Geneva and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) analysed sperm samples from 2,677 men aged between 18 and 22. These test subjects were recruited between 2005 and 2018 as part of compulsory military service.
“Hotspot” is near Aarau
The new analysis of the sperm revealed striking patterns: they found regions with comparatively good sperm quality and regions with poor sperm quality. The researchers refer to these as “hotspots” and “coldspots”.
They found that a “coldspot” region exists in central-western parts of Switzerland, where sperm quality was particularly low. As can be seen on a map, this concerns an area between Thun and Bern.
In contrast, the “hotspots” where sperm quality was particularly high were found in north-central regions. As the map shows, this concerns the region around Aarau.
According to the study, the “coldspot” region is characterised by a higher proportion of agricultural land.
The researchers suspect that chemical influences from agriculture, such as pesticides, could play a role. However, they emphasise in the study that causal relationships have not been proven. It is therefore not possible to say whether agriculture is the cause.
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Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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