On August 16, 2017, Dr. Shanna Swan’s research was highlighted in the New York Times article, “Sperm Count in Western Men Has Dropped Over 50 Percent Since 1973, Paper Finds.” Dr. Swan’s research study “Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis”, which was featured in the NYT article, looks at the decline of sperm count in Western countries. By examining thousands of studies and conducting a meta-analysis of 185 — the most comprehensive effort to date — an international team of researchers ultimately looked at semen samples from 42,935 men from 50 countries from 1973 to 2011. They found that sperm concentration — the number of sperm per milliliter of semen — had declined each year, amounting to a 52.4 percent total decline, in men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Total sperm count among the same group also tumbled each year for a total decline of 59.3 percent over the nearly 40-year period. To read the article click here.