The rate of decline since 2000 has been a striking, the study found, with an observed 2.64 percent fall each year in the number of sperm per milliliter of semen — more than twice as large of a decline as that observed since 1978, according to The Guardian.
While reasons for the decline are unclear, one major factor could be endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in thousands of everyday items, coauthor Shanna Swan of the Icahn School of Medicine told the Financial Times.