Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 341, Issue 8857, 29 May 1993, Pages 1392-1396
The Lancet

HYPOTHESIS
Are oestrogens involved in falling sperm counts and disorders of the male reproductive tract?

https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(93)90953-EGet rights and content

Abstract

The incidence of disorders of development of the male reproductive tract has more than doubled in the past 30-50 years while sperm counts have declined by about half. Similar abnormalities occur in the sons of women exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy and can be induced in animals by brief exposure to exogenous oestrogen/DES during pregnancy. We argue that the increasing incidence of reproductive abnormalities in the human male may be related to increased oestrogen exposure in utero, and identify mechanisms by which this exposure could occur.

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