Health Care

By: Terry Bytheway

New research suggests that the radiation given out by mobile phones reduces sperm count by up to 30%.

A lot of concerns have been expressed by some male members of the public about the implications of prolonged cell phone exposure to male sperm cells. Considering the possible hazards, several considerations were taken into account.

Researchers of Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University Ohio evoked, that prolonged cell phone use may damage sperm in male users.

Subsequently, the findings were presented at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine conference in New Orleans. The findings were actually based on a study of 361 men attending the clinic for infertility tests. The men were divided into four groups: One group with no cell phone usage; one group that used cell phones less than two hours a day; a group who were exposed for two to four hours a day and a group with more than four hours a day of cell phone usage.

The men who used their cell phones in excess of four hours showed a 30 % drop in sperm motility and viability when compared to the men who did not use cell phones. Thus, the sperm count, quality, and shape were also reduced with each level of increased phone usage.

According to Dr. Ashok Agarwal, “There was a significant decrease in the most important measures of sperm health and that should definitely be reflected in a decrease in fertility which is seen worldwide”. Mobiles could have a devastating effect on fertility but it still has to be proven, he stressed.

In addition, he suggested that cell phones might be harming the DNA of the phone users, disrupting their testosterone-producing cells, or shrinking the tubules that create sperm. He noted that the small study did not prove that male fertility was affected by cell phone use, thus he suggested that further investigation is necessary.

On the other hand, scientists who have heard the results requested that factors such as age, weight, smoking, stress and sedentary occupations should be considered.

Alan Pacey, Senior lecturer in Andrology at Sheffield University, U.K said "If you're using your phone for four hours a day, then it is out of your pocket”. Thus, the question would be how is it that testicular damage is supposed to occur? If you are holding it up to your head to speak, it makes no sense it is having a direct effect on your testes”, he stressed. He added that people who use a phone for four hours a day spend more time sitting, which could mean there is a heat issue. It could be that they are more stressed, or more sedentary. Thus, he pointed out that those factors seem to be better explanations than a phone causing the damage at such a great distance.

Furthermore, Alasdair Philips, director of the consumer pressure group Powerwatch added, "Sperm is very temperature sensitive as shown by many studies, and a short-term rise in temperature could be responsible. He theorized that mobile phones may only heat the groin area when men are doing things like sending text messages while the cell phone is in their lap.

All these new researches were taken into consideration however, the final point is though scientists say that cellular phones can be linked to male infertility, further research has to be conducted to confirm the findings and establish how exactly sperm production is affected by radiation given out by mobile phones.

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