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Letters

Worldwide decline in semen quality might be due to smoking

BMJ 1996; 312 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.312.7029.506 (Published 24 February 1996) Cite this as: BMJ 1996;312:506
  1. Marilyn F Vine
  1. Assistant professor CB# 7400 Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA

    EDITOR,—While there has been much concern recently about the potential effect of environmental oestrogens on male reproduction, studies of the association between cigarette smoking and sperm concentration, as well as patterns of cigarette consumption, support the notion that cigarette smoking may have contributed considerably to the worldwide decline in semen quality. Carlsen et al systematically reviewed 61 studies of semen quality conducted over 50 years and found that mean sperm concentration worldwide fell by half from …

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