German researchers monitored the scrotal temperatures of 48 boys, ages birth to 4 years and 7 months using a non-invasive thermal probe. They reported that scrotal temperatures of boys wearing plastic-lined, disposable diapers were about 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than scrotal temperatures among boys who wore cotton diapers. Because 2 degree to 6 degree increases in scrotal temperatures affect sperm development and motility in adults, the researchers hypothesize that infant boys who wear disposable diapers might have fertility problems later in life. And to give their findings currency, the researchers assert that Male reproductive health has deteriorated in recent decades, coinciding with the use of disposable diapers. The study appears in the October issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Serious questions exist about the study s methodology.
But the truly flaky claims are the assertion that male fertility is on the decline and that disposable diapers have played a role in the decline. These data gaps alone should have prevented the researchers from jumping to any conclusions. The researchers inexplicably passed up the opportunity to explore normal scrotal temperature as they only measured temperatures in children wearing disposable diapers and cotton diapers. There were no buck-naked controls. The test also didn t reflect real-world use of cotton diapers that are typically worn with plastic pants to prevent leakage, according to the Personal Absorbent Products Council, a business group.