Pesticide Consumption May be Linked to Male Infertility, Harvard Study Suggests

A study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health demonstrated that high intake of pesticide residue from fruits and vegetables may reduce fertility in men.

Led by Jorge E. Chavarro, the study was conducted on 240 heterosexual couples taking part in in vitro fertilization treatments. It revealed an association between lower fertilization rates and couples where the male partner consumed a high amount of fruits and vegetables with high pesticide residues.

"We’re definitely seeing some signals that are consistent with the occupational literature, which I think suggests that exposure to humans within levels that are generally ‘safer’ may still have measurable health outcomes,” Chavarro said.

He added that the higher pesticide-exposed diet reduced couples’ chances of having a live birth during the course of their in vitro fertilization treatment.

When asked how consumers should approach their fruit and vegetable consumption, Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, a professor of medicine focused on fertility and reproductive health, said that individuals should purchase organic thin-skinned fruits and vegetables — such as strawberries, tomatoes, and grapes — because their non-organic counterparts tend to have high pesticide exposure.

However, when buying thick-skinned fruits and vegetables like bananas, pineapples, and avocados, going organic is less important.

Chavarro also offered ways in which individuals can reduce their pesticide exposure while not reducing their fruit and vegetable intake. Similar to Minguez-Alarcon, he advocated for consuming organic produce, but acknowledged that this approach can be “more expensive than conventional” options.

Alternatively, consumers can strive to avoid high pesticide residue produce, which can be identified on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list.

Russ Hauser, professor of reproductive physiology and co-author of the study, also promoted greater consumer awareness of pesticide consumption.

“I think it’s a really creative and efficient way to get at the question of exposure to pesticide residues in our foods, specifically fruits and vegetables and reproductive health,” Hauser said.

Prior to this study, Hauser had worked with Chavarro on other studies researching semen quality. However, their newest research offered further insight into reproductive health.

“This was a way of kind of taking it to the next step,” Hauser said.

Although his research sheds new light on the fertility impacts of pesticide exposure, Chavarro expressed some uncertainty about the long-term relationship between pesticide exposure and other health outcomes.

“If there’s a difference between changes in exposure status and changes in health effects, they may work on different time scales. And the reality is that we do not know what those time scales are,” he said.

“It’s a question we need an answer to, but it’s not a question we have an answer to right now,” Chavarro added.