Prague: There is a link between exposure to high levels of pollution and sperm damage, according to a report in the journal Human Reproduction.

Scientists in the Czech Republic studied 35 men in the district of Teplice where the air is polluted by coal-burning power stations. The research over a two year period discoverd a link between pollution and damage to the DNA in sperm.After the men were moved to cleaner air, sperm quality improved.

Another study of Italian motorway toll workers found that traffic pollution damaged the quality of sperm in young and middle-aged men.

The advice of experts is that men trying for a family should eat healthily, exercise, stop smoking and reduce alcohol intake.