Sperm defects caused by environmental toxins can be passed down to the children conceived.
Scientists say fathers who smoke and drink should be aware they are not just damaging themselves, but potentially also their children.
Tests on rats showed sperm damage caused by exposure to garden chemicals remained up to four generations later.
It suggests that a father's health plays a greater role in the health of future generations than was previously thought.
A fungicide chemical called vinclozolin, described as hormone-disrupting, was tested on embryonic rats to monitor the effects. The chemical altered genes in the sperm, including a number associated with human prostate cancer. Rats exposed to it show signs of damage and overgrowth of the prostate, infertility and kidney problems.
The defects were also present in animals four generations down the line. The scientists did admit that the rats were exposed to very high levels of vinclozolin. However they argued that their work shows that once toxins cause defects in sperm they can be passed down the generations.
Professor Cynthia Daniels, from Rutgers University in New Jersey, has written books on male and female reproduction. She said men who drank a lot of alcohol had been shown to have increased rates of sperm defects and nicotine from tobacco found its way into seminal fluid as well as blood.
Many sources now advise fathers whose partners are trying to conceive to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible.
February 2008
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Sperm Damage Passed Down Generations
