Boom in Social Stress May Contribute to Population Decline

Summary: Researchers hypothesize the projected decline in global population by 2064 will be a result of social stress.

Source: Endocrinology.

In a recent study, an environmental health scientist has discovered an “overlooked hypothesis” i.e. social stress to help explain the projected global population decline, beginning in 2064.

Alexander Suvorov, associate professor in the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, suggests that stress caused by social media and other profusely empty or overwhelming social interactions may be leading or contributing to alterations in reproductive behavior and reproductive physiology.

In a review article, he mentioned his analysis on various theories surrounding previous human population decline, as study models predict a significant decrease from 9.7 billion people in 2064 to 8.8 billion by 2100. Some countries’ populations have already reached their peak and are projected to decline by 50% by the end of the century.

Over the past 50 years, a 50% reduction in sperm counts has occurred. Suvorov notifies that stress is known to suppress sperm count, ovulation and sexual activities. While changes in reproductive physiology are usually known to happen by effects of endocrine-disrupting pollutants, Suvorov believes it is not the only factor.

Suvorov indicates several changes in reproductive behavior that are the reason for the population drop, including people having fewer children and waiting longer to start families or choosing to be child-free. But he says due to stress the biological changes are likely happening as well. More research is needed, he says, such as studies to find out cortisol levels in human blood, an important measure of stress.

He hopes his hypothesis offers up a tempting area of research that scientists from different fields will be interested in exploring and discovering new theories that add up to the research.