A Danish study published in *The BMJ* has revealed that prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air is associated with an increased risk of infertility in men, while elevated road traffic noise is linked to infertility in women over the age of 35.
The research analyzed data from 526,056 men and 377,850 women between the ages of 30 and 45. Over an 18-year follow-up period, 16,172 men and 22,672 women were diagnosed with infertility, with an average follow-up duration of slightly more than four years.
As reported by emedinexus.com, the findings showed that men exposed to an additional 2.9 µg/m³ of PM2.5 over five years experienced a 24% higher risk of infertility. However, PM2.5 exposure did not appear to impact women’s fertility. For women over 35, an increase of 10.2 decibels in road traffic noise over five years was linked to a 14% higher risk of infertility, while younger women (ages 30–35) were not similarly affected by noise.
Among men aged 37–45, road traffic noise was associated with a slight increase in infertility risk, whereas no such effect was observed in men aged 30–37. These results were consistent across different geographic regions (rural, suburban, urban) and socioeconomic groups. The study suggests that reducing air pollution and noise could potentially help improve birth rates in Western countries, pending further research.