Sales reps have been warned that their lifestyle of long hours driving from job to job might reduce their chances of having children.
Previous research has shown that men who drive for a living tend to have a lower sperm count and that their partners take longer to conceive, but it has not been known why.
Now truckers and sales reps have been warned that the driving position may increase the temperature of the scrotum, affecting the creation of sperm.
Sperm develop best at a temperature 2-3°C lower than the rest of the body, which is why the testes are outside the body. Wearing tight underpants or jeans can raise the temperature of the testes and lower sperm production.
Research published today in the Journal of Human Reproduction studied nine men who were asked to walk outside for 40 minutes then drive a car for 160 minutes.
Skin probes attached to their scrotum took their temperature every two minutes during this exercise and found that by the end of two hours of driving, the temperature was up to 2.2°C higher than when walking.
The researchers warn that this link between driving position and increased temperature shows the potential exposure of male reproductive function to lifestyle factors.
31 May 2000
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