A recent report from the Nordic Fertility and Fibroid Care Centre has revealed that in the last decade, men have lost about 30 per cent of their sperm count.
The Centre noted that while male infertility is on the rise globally, in Nigeria, however, its data showed that the areas most hit by this condition are states in the oil-producing region.
It further revealed that the primary cause of the alarming rate of infertility among men is majorly due to unhealthy lifestyle choices, especially excessive drinking, smoking, use of sex-enhancing drugs, sedentary lifestyle, stress, among others.
The Chief Medical Director of the Nordic Fertility and Fibroid Care Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, who revealed this during a briefing to commemorate its ten years anniversary in Abuja, also called for legislation on assisted conception to reduce quackery in the country.
He said: “Men now are probably the greater culprit in infertility. What we say normally is that it is between 30 to 40 per cent for men and 30 to 40 per cent for women. But we know now that all over the world and in Nigeria, the male factor is increasing.
“We analyzed data from all the centres. One thing we saw was that when we looked at sperm count ten years apart, we saw that there was a decline of 30 per cent in the sperm count of the men we are treating ten years after.
“There is a part of the country that is worse for this – the oil producing areas. They are really having a bad run with this. Without sounding like an alarmist, men are becoming more extinct. The good thing is that technology is helping to an extent.
“Each time we talk of male infertility issues, we are always emphasizing on lifestyle. Some of the things that are causing infertility in men, we are bringing it upon ourselves. Men now re becoming obese; obesity and sperm count don’t go together. Also, men are drinking a lot of alcohol, smoking all kinds of nonsense, and it is affecting sperm count. We are also becoming so sedentary. Also, we are seeing many couples abusing all kinds of aphrodisiacs. It may help with the performance, but the product is getting worse.”
– Media Report