Environmental factors and behavioural risk factors

These causes of infertility are linked to two factors:

1) either environmental factors causing endocrine disruptors. These causes are currently on the increase. They include:

• atmospheric pollutants, including exhaust fumes, particularly diesel fumes,
• pollutants in tap water, which contains chlorination by-products (a vast family including hundreds of compounds such as trihalomethanes and the haloacetic acid family), pesticides, nitrates, heavy metals, etc.,
• exposure to lead and aluminium,
• pesticides contained in processed food,
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), including dioxins, PCBs and DDT,
• Brominated Flame Retardants: BFRs,
• phthalates,
• phenols (including Bisphenol A),
• ionising radiation,
• electromagnetic fields and waves emitted by mobile phones, television, computers, WiFi, etc.

2) or behavioural risk factors linked to lifestyle:

• smoking,
• excessive alcohol consumption,
• excessive caffeine consumption,
• the age at which a child is conceived. A woman's fertility declines gradually after the age of 30. This decline increases sharply after the age of 37. Men's fertility may decrease after the age of 40,
• being overweight or obese.