Apples for Health- Male infertility, water pollution linked

Male infertility, water pollution linked

EXETER, England, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- British researchers say a group of testosterone-blocking chemicals in rivers is affecting wildlife and, potentially, humans.

Researchers at Brunel University, the University of Exeter, the University of Reading and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology identified a new group of chemicals that act as anti-androgens, which inhibit the function of the male hormone testosterone, reducing male fertility.

Some of these anti-androgens are contained in medicines, including cancer treatments, pharmaceutical treatments and pesticides used in agriculture, the researchers say.

State-of-the-art statistical hierarchical modeling allowed the researchers to explore the associations between the exposure and potential effects seen in more than 1,000 fish sampled from 30 rivers in various parts of England.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that when the chemicals get into the water system they may play a pivotal role in causing feminizing effects in male fish.

"Our research shows that a much wider range of chemicals than we previously thought is leading to hormone disruption in fish," senior author Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter says in a statement.