Summary
A number of reproductive health parameters have been evaluated in people living in the Greater Athens area. These include:
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changes in important seminal characters of men investigated for subfertility,
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the ratio of male to female newborn infants delivered in a busy maternity hospital over a period of 35 years,
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the incidence of premature menopause in a large cohort of Athenian women investigated recently,
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public awareness of gonadal decline in ageing men and its importance in their well-being.
The findings are:
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1.
A declining trend for seminal volume (p < 0.01) and sperm number (P < 0.001) was observed in a representative sample of 2385 Athenian men investigated during the period 1977 to 1993.
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2.
A decreasing trend in the ratio of male to female infants (P < 0.01) was documented in 221.799 births recorded during the period 1969-2003 in this hospital.
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3.
A higher incidence of perinatal care needs and raised in male newborns and more premature mortality in male neonates than in girls.
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4.
A high percentage of Athenian women (22.2%) who fail to reach the age of natural menopause, with 10.5% experiencing menopause before the age of 40 years.
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5.
A low public awareness of reproductive health problems in Athenian men over 50 years of age. Those, however, who were properly informed showed a better physical, mental and sexual activity.
Overall the data show that certain aspects of reproductive health have markedly deteriorated during the last 2-3 decades the Greater Athens area. The implications of these findings justify important concerns on reproductive health in some agespecific groups in the area of Greek capital.
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Adamopoulos, D., Koukkou, E. (2007). Reproductive Health Problems in the Greater Athens Area. In: Nicolopoulou-Stamati, P., Hens, L., Howard, C. (eds) Reproductive Health and the Environment. Environmental Science and Technology Library, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4829-7_16
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