The changing tide of human fertility
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review and expert commentary without systematic search methods or primary empirical data.
OpenAlex W4210577501 · doi:10.1093/humrep/deac011
What was done
Narrative review and perspective examining the multi-factorial drivers of declining global human fertility over the past 50 years, synthesizing social, environmental, lifestyle, and evolutionary factors.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative values or statistical effect sizes. It describes a global decline in fertility rates associated with increasing prosperity, mediated by female education and shifts in life goals, coupled with biological declines in male reproductive health (declining semen quality, lower testosterone, and increased testicular cancer incidence). It also posits an evolutionary component where lower child mortality and increased use of assisted reproductive technologies reduce selection pressure against low-fertility genotypes.
Why it matters
Integrates broad demographic, biological, and evolutionary mechanisms to argue that modern socio-environmental conditions risk creating a multi-generational infertility trap.
Limits
This is an unsystematic narrative commentary and theoretical synthesis. The abstract presents no original empirical data, quantitative measurements, risk estimates, or formal systematic review methodology.
Cited by
- supports Total global births peaked around 2013 at approximately 145 million births in one year.