News | Negative Effects of Copper, Chromium, and Other Metals on Female Fertility
A study published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety found that exposure to several metals adversely affects female fertility, while zinc shows a significant protective effect. Researchers from McGill University, the University of Pretoria, Université Laval, Aarhus University, and the University of Copenhagen conducted the study, offering new clues about declining global fertility rates.
Background
According to the United Nations' World Fertility and Family Planning 2020 report, the global fertility rate fell by more than 20% from 1990 to 2019, from 3.2 to 2.5 children per woman, and is expected to decline further. Combined with longer life expectancy, this is expected to accelerate population aging, creating substantial economic pressure and labor shortages.
Education, social factors, environmental pollution, and changing views of marriage have long been considered major causes. Pollutants may disrupt female hormones and reproductive function and reduce ovarian germ cells. Because the number of these cells is fixed at birth, such loss is irreversible.
Methods and Findings
Researchers used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure 22 common metals in plasma samples from 180 participants and assess their effects on female fertility. Copper, chromium, cobalt, and rubidium were closely associated with lower fertility, while zinc showed a significant protective effect.
Some metals had little effect at low concentrations but increasingly adverse effects at higher exposure levels. The negative effects of copper and cobalt remained significant after adjustment for demographic variables and confounders, while appropriate zinc levels were associated with better fertility outcomes.
Conclusion
The study suggests that environmental exposure to copper, chromium, cobalt, and rubidium may contribute to declining global fertility, while zinc may be protective. Metals may also interact, with some combinations causing greater harm than individual metals.
The team called for further research into interactions among metals and their effects on fertility.
News | Negative Effects of Copper, Chromium, and Other Metals on Female Fertility
News | Negative Effects of Copper, Chromium, and Other Metals on Female Fertility
A study published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety found that exposure to several metals adversely affects female fertility, while zinc shows a significant protective effect. Researchers from McGill University, the University of Pretoria, Université Laval, Aarhus University, and the University of Copenhagen conducted the study, offering new clues about declining global fertility rates.
Background
According to the United Nations' World Fertility and Family Planning 2020 report, the global fertility rate fell by more than 20% from 1990 to 2019, from 3.2 to 2.5 children per woman, and is expected to decline further. Combined with longer life expectancy, this is expected to accelerate population aging, creating substantial economic pressure and labor shortages.
Education, social factors, environmental pollution, and changing views of marriage have long been considered major causes. Pollutants may disrupt female hormones and reproductive function and reduce ovarian germ cells. Because the number of these cells is fixed at birth, such loss is irreversible.
Methods and Findings
Researchers used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure 22 common metals in plasma samples from 180 participants and assess their effects on female fertility. Copper, chromium, cobalt, and rubidium were closely associated with lower fertility, while zinc showed a significant protective effect.
Some metals had little effect at low concentrations but increasingly adverse effects at higher exposure levels. The negative effects of copper and cobalt remained significant after adjustment for demographic variables and confounders, while appropriate zinc levels were associated with better fertility outcomes.
Conclusion
The study suggests that environmental exposure to copper, chromium, cobalt, and rubidium may contribute to declining global fertility, while zinc may be protective. Metals may also interact, with some combinations causing greater harm than individual metals.
The team called for further research into interactions among metals and their effects on fertility.
Story source:
Collected online