Researchers at University of Edinburgh have found that male fertility problems such as common genital disorders, low sperm count and testicular cancer are linked to low hormone levels or androgens at eight to 12 weeks of gestation period.

In their study on rodents, the researchers also found that the level of androgen hormone at this time of pregnancy was related to the distance between the base of the penis and the anus.

This measurement could be an early warning system of future reproductive problems in baby boys, the researchers reported in the latest edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

According to the study's lead author, Dr Michelle Welsh, "We know from other studies that androgens work during foetal development to programme the reproductive tract. But our assumption was that it would be much later in pregnancy.

"The anogenital measurement would be a useful tool. Say a clinician were to examine a 30-year-old man with testicular cancer -- previously there would have been no way of knowing what hormones he was exposed to in the womb.

"We would suggest that this measurement, even at this later stage in life, could offer an indication of hormone exposure. For example, the shorter the distance, the less confident we can be that hormones have acted correctly and at the right time." Leading experts in this field have welcomed the research but have raised doubts too. "Understandably, this is almost impossible to study in humans directly and so animal models are needed to unravel the precise details.