Recent research has unveiled a concerning connection between mobile phone usage and sperm concentration in men. A study published in Fertility and Sterility journal indicates that men who frequently use their mobile phones for various activities like making calls or checking emails, tend to have over a 20% lower sperm concentration compared to men who use their phones less frequently.
The quality of semen has been reported to have declined over the past five decades. This decline is often linked to environmental and lifestyle changes. Nevertheless, the role of mobile phone usage in this decline remains uncertain. Scientists have been increasingly concerned about the potential harmful effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by mobile phones, particularly on human reproductive functions.
To investigate this concern, the University of Geneva partnered with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to conduct a study. They gathered data and semen samples from 2,886 men aged between 18 and 22 years. The participants also provided information about their mobile phone usage and storage habits.
The study found that men who used their mobile phones more than 20 times a day had a 21% lower sperm concentration compared to those who used their phones less than once a week. However, the researchers observed that the correlation between mobile phone usage and sperm characteristics was more noticeable during the initial survey, which took place between 2005 and 2007, and has gradually declined in the subsequent research periods, ending in 2018.
Martin Röösli, an associate professor at Swiss TPH, suggests this trend corresponds with the transition from 2G to 3G and then to 4G networks, which have considerably reduced the transmitting power of mobile phones. The study also points out that newer mobile network generations have a significantly lower RF-EMF output power than the 2G network.
Interestingly, the location where men store their mobile phones, with 85.7% keeping them in their pockets, did not seem to impact semen parameters. However, the number of men who reported storing their phones away from their bodies was too insignificant to establish any firm conclusions.
As mobile network technology continues to advance, researchers are calling for more in-depth studies into the potential impact of mobile phone usage on male fertility. The study’s first author, Rita Rahban, raised several questions that remain to be answered. These include whether the microwaves emitted by mobile phones have a direct or indirect effect, whether they cause a significant increase in testes temperature, and whether they affect the hormonal regulation of sperm production.
