Cell Phone in Your Pant Pocket is Killing Sperms Leading to Infertility

Men beware; the cell phone in your pocket is killing your sperms thereby reducing your chances of becoming of father.

Cell phones, an integral part of everyday life,  is also known for some health hazards. The radiation from cell phones is a major cause of concern.  This new study, led by researchers at the University of Exeter, highlights the strong association between cell phone radiation and male infertility.

Earlier studies have claimed that Radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted by mobile devices may have certain negative effects on male fertility.

 The study also says that nearly 14 percent of couples belonging to the high and middle income countries have a difficulty conceiving.

The current study led by Dr Fiona Mathews, of Biosciences, conducted a systematic review of ten studies including 1,492 samples. The main aim of the researchers was to study the effect of the cell phone radiation.

The participants in this study belonged to fertility clinics as well as research centers. The participants' quality of sperm was measured in three ways that included mobility, vitality and concentration, i.e the number of sperms per unit of semen.

The study also included a control group in which 50-85 percent of the sperm samples had normal movement, but exposure to cell phones led to a drop of 8 percentage points in this group.  Similar detrimental effect was visible even in the sperm viability. On the other hand, the effect on sperm concentration was less clear.

Dr Mathews said, "Given the enormous scale of mobile phone use around the world, the potential role of this environmental exposure needs to be clarified. This study strongly suggests that being exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation from carrying mobiles in trouser pockets negatively affects sperm quality. This could be particularly important for men already on the borderline of infertility, and further research is required to determine the full clinical implications for the general population."

The researchers noticed the same results in vitro studies that were done under controlled conditions.

The study was documented in the journal Environment International.