Mobile phones reduce a man's fertility by a third, say researchers

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 27 Jun 2004 - 8:00 PDT

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According to researchers in Hungary, if you are a man and you walk around with a mobile (cell) phone, you could be reducing your fertility by a third. The radiation emanating from the phone may reduce the total number of sperm by 30%. This is according to research carried out at the University of Szeged, Hungary.

Researchers examined 200 men. They presented their findings at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Berlin, Germany.

Critics are already saying that the research did not take into account many factors related to men's lifestyle.

This is the first time any study has tried to look at how radiation from cell phones affect a man's sperm.

The evidence was quite stark. The researchers found that the males who walked around with their phones switched on (on standby) all day had 30% less sperm than the men who had them switched off (or not on them).

More alarming - they found that the rest of the sperm of them men who had their phones on standby all day were not swimming properly. If a man's sperm does not swim properly his fertility is reduced.

Others, however, say other factors could be influencing the results. Factors such as social class and age range would have a big impact on the results anyway. Maybe the type of man who walks around with his phone switched on all day has a stressful job with many other factors that could influence his sperm count.