You are here:
Is human fecundity changing? A discussion of research and data gaps precluding us from having an answer.
Citation:
Smarr, M., K. Sapra, A. Gemmill, L. Kahn, L. Wise, C. Lynch, P. Factor-Litvak, S. Mumford, N. Skakkebaek, R. Slama, D. Lobdell, J. Stanford, T. Kold Jensen, E. Heger Boyle, M. Eisenberg, P. Turek, R. Sundaram, M. Thomas, AND G. Buck Louis. Is human fecundity changing? A discussion of research and data gaps precluding us from having an answer. Human Reproduction. Oxford Journals, 32(3):499-504, (2017).
Impact/Purpose:
This paper is a result of a workshop conducted by the National Institutes of Health on September 20-21, 2015. The paper poses five questions relevant to the topic of "Is human fecundity changing?".
Description:
Fecundity, the biologic capacity to reproduce, is essential for the health of individuals and is, therefore, fundamental for understanding human health at the population level. Given the absence of a population (bio)marker, fecundity is assessed indirectly by various individual based (e.g. semen quality, ovulation) or couple-based (e.g. time-to-pregnancy) endpoints. Population monitoring of fecundity is challenging, and often defaults to relying on rates of births (fertility) or adverse outcomes such as genitourinary malformations and reproductive site cancers . In light of reported declines in semen quality and fertility rates in some global regions among other changes, the question as to whether human fecundity is changing needs investigation. We review existing data and novel methodological approaches aimed at answering this question from a transdisciplinary perspective. The existing literature is insufficient for answering this question; we provide an overview of currently available resources and novel methods suitable for delineating temporal patterns in human fecundity in future research.
