Future Male Infertility Linked to Common Painkillers

Trying to start a family can involve many factors, but the overall health of both partners is critical. A new study throws another factor into the mix that cannot be ignored as its so common in society today.

The effect of Phthalates, bisphenol-A (BPA as commonly found in plastics), and other environmental toxins has been well established as disrupting proper hormone function in humans which of course affects fertility. However, a new European study has revealed that common painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen have a far worse effect on the future reproductive health of boys.

Scientists from Denmark, Finland, and France recently published their findings in the journal Human Reproduction. Their study draws urgent attention to the serious dangers associated with painkillers as they have discovered that pregnant women who take painkiller drugs have a significantly higher risk of bearing baby boys with reproductive problems than pregnant women who do not.

Any painkiller drugs taken during the second trimester doubles the risk of having a baby boy with cryptorchidism, where the testicles do not properly descend due to inadequate testosterone production. The risk rises massively by 1600 percent if more than one painkiller is taken during the second trimester.

Dr. Henrik Leffers, senior scientist at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen and author of the study explains: “A single paracetamol tablet [500mg] contains more endocrine disruptor potency than the combined exposure to the 10 most prevalent of the currently known environmental endocrine disruptors during the whole pregnancy. In fact, a single tablet will, for most women, be at least a doubling of the exposure to the known endocrine disruptors during the pregnancy and that dose comes on a single day, not spread out over nine months as with the environmental endocrine disruptors. Thus, for women using mild analgesics during the pregnancy, the mild analgesics will be by far the largest exposure to endocrine disruptors.”

This is a significant departure from the normal advice during pregnancy as taking painkiller at that time is largely considered to have no significant risks associated with it. In the study more than 57 percent of Danish mothers admitted in a telephone survey they used painkillers on a regular basis.

Male fertility is under threat in many areas: environmental toxins, excess estrogen in the food and water supply, and even laptop computers as they can heat male genitalia to temperatures so high that reproductive function becomes impaired.

If you want to start a family, or know someone who is pregnant, then please pass on this important warning.

You may also be interested to read the article by Dr Jeffrey Dach on Low Testosterone and Painkillers that you will find at my other site at www.bio-hormone-health.com

Article by AnnA