the testicles and lead to a decrease in fertility!
A study warned that pollution from industries such as coal mining and metalworking could cause more babies to be born with their testicles in the wrong place.
Experts from France have investigated cases of the so-called `` cryptorchidism '''' - a condition in which one or both testicles did not descend into the scrotum at birth.
While it may correct itself during the first year of life, the condition can persist and lead to decreased fertility and an increased risk of cancer and psychological problems.
Previous research has found that exposure to certain chemicals - including pesticides and phthalates, used to make plastic flexible - is linked to undescended testicles.
The team noted that they had only identified the relationship between the pollution and the hidden testis - and that more work was needed to establish a causal relationship.
"Our main findings are an increase in the frequency of occult testicular cases in France during the study period, and a strong tendency for cases to cluster together in certain locations," said the author of the paper, Joel Le Mawal.
"This is the first time that such a discovery has been documented nationwide for this congenital defect," added the epidemiologist from French Public Health. "Our results indicate that the geographical environment can contribute to the cryptorchid condition and interact with social and economic factors." Industrial activities identified in the clusters are a source of constant environmental pollution through metals, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, otherwise known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
PCBs, pesticides and dioxins are suspected to play a role in cryptorchidism, and other testicular problems by disrupting hormones.
In their study, Dr. Le Mawal and colleagues identified from public records 89,382 cases between 2002 and 2014, in which boys younger than seven years of age underwent surgery to correct their undescended testicles.
Moreover, the team found that during the 12-year study period, the incidence of the condition increased by 36% - although this number could actually be higher, if uncorrected cases were also counted.
The team identified 24 focus groups, which were mostly located in north and central eastern France.
They also identified cases of bilateral cryptorchidism, in which the testicles are not drooping, in some agricultural areas where pesticides are most likely to be used.
The main group of 1,244 cases was located around the city of Lines in the Pas de Calais, a former coal mining area, where the risk of one hanging testicle was 50% above average.
Besides the possible association with pollution, the researchers also found that many testicular groups occurred in areas of declining economic activity, with low socioeconomic status as a definite risk factor for the condition.
Other factors that have been linked to a higher risk of an incorrect testicle include: maternal smoking and relatively premature or young labor, all of which are more common in industrialized areas and among the poorest.
“We have highlighted several hypotheses that should be tested in further research. These results should not be overinterpreted, as the persistent pollutants we have identified could be effects associated with other chemicals. Moreover, we do not know exactly how they might be,” said Le Mawal. The population is polluting. "
Richard Sharp, a reproductive health expert from the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the research, commented that the work is a "historical study".
He added, "This indicates that the focus of our recent research on environmental chemicals as a possible source of invalid characteristics (and other male reproductive disorders that are increasing), may have been correct in principle but are incorrect in practice. True, because hotspot clusters are for testicular states. "Blindness is clearly related to industrial areas that have been shown to increase human exposure to many pollutants. It is incorrect, because the main focus of research in this area over the past twenty years has been on chemicals to which most of the population is exposed to a low level through food."
