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Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Male Infertility: Mechanisms, Risks, and Regulatory Challenges
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This review synthesizes evidence that endocrine-disrupting chemicals—including phthalates, bisphenol A, pesticides, and heavy metals—impair male fertility through oxidative stress, hormonal disruption, and epigenetic changes, while calling for improved biomonitoring, better understanding of low-dose and mixture effects, and stronger international regulation.
Male reproductive health is increasingly threatened by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which interfere with hormonal homeostasis and reproductive physiology. Rising rates of male infertility have been linked to greater exposure to pollutants such as heavy metals, phthalates, pesticides, and bisphenol A. These compounds act through multiple mechanisms, including oxidative stress, apoptosis, receptor-mediated disruption of estrogenic and androgenic signaling, alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, and heritable epigenetic changes. Such disruptions impair key outcomes like sperm concentration, motility, morphology, DNA integrity, and steroidogenesis. Evidence from animal studies and human epidemiology consistently demonstrates these harmful effects, with biomarkers of EDC exposure correlating with reduced semen quality, hormonal imbalances, and infertility. Beyond individual health, infertility linked to EDCs carries significant social and economic costs. This review evaluates regulatory frameworks, highlights methodological challenges in risk assessment, and synthesizes mechanistic and clinical evidence. Particular attention is given to unresolved issues such as non-monotonic dose responses, mixture effects, low-dose exposures, and transgenerational impacts. Future priorities include refining biomonitoring, addressing mixture risks, and strengthening international regulation. By integrating mechanistic, clinical, and policy insights, this review underscores the urgent need for strategies to mitigate EDC-related threats to male reproductive health.
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This review examines how environmental toxin exposures, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in plastics, may contribute to declining male fertility. Researchers found consistent evidence linking exposure to phthalates, bisphenol A, and other synthetic chemicals to reduced sperm quality and hormonal disruption. The study suggests that the dramatic increase in human chemical exposures over recent decades may be a significant factor in the observed decline in male reproductive health.
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This review pulls together existing research to show that everyday chemicals, including plastics ingredients, pesticides, flame retardants, and even microplastics, seem to disrupt fertility and increase cancer risk through the same underlying biological pathways, like messing with hormones and damaging cell DNA. This matters because it suggests these aren't separate problems but two stages of one process, and it reveals that even "non-persistent" pollutants (like microplastics and personal-care product residues that constantly wash into our environment) can cause lasting harm through repeated low-level exposure, not just chemicals that linger in the body for years.
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This review examines how environmental contaminants, including microplastics, air pollution, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, may contribute to declining male fertility. The study suggests these environmental toxins can impair sperm function through oxidative stress, hormonal imbalance, and inflammation, and highlights the need for integrating environmental exposure data into fertility assessments.
The Impact of Microplastics on Male Fertility
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