01 November 2023 , 05:45
441
0
Mobile phone use has been linked to declining sperm in a 13-year study of young men.
Research following 2,500 Swiss men who were aged between 18 and 22 at the start of the study found sperm concentration ended up 21 per cent lower in frequent phone users. It is the first study to back a previously discredited theory that electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones may affect semen quality. The research team from the University of Geneva called for more research but said men should not be alarmed and stop carrying phones in their trouser pockets just yet.
Study co-author Rita Rahban said: ‘"Do the microwaves emitted by mobile phones have a direct or indirect effect? Do they cause a significant increase in temperature in the testes? Do they affect the hormonal regulation of sperm production? This all remains to be discovered."
More research needs to be done to support this study (Getty Images)The study comes amid a decline in male semen quality globally in the last 50 years which scientists cannot explain. Published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, it found the median sperm concentration was significantly higher in the group of men who did not use their phone more than once a week, at 56.5 million/mL.
Sperm concentration in men who self-reported using their phone more than 20 times a day was 21% lower at 44.5 million/mL on average. But the study could not rule out that it was other differences in the low mobile phone use men’s lifestyles which was responsible for lower sperm concentration.
Martin Lewis issues 8-week warning to phone users ahead of huge price hikes
Top UK fertility expert Prof Allan Pacey, of Manchester University, said: "If men are concerned, then keeping their phones in a bag and limiting their use is a relatively easy thing for them to do. But there is currently no evidence that will improve their sperm quality, that would need a randomised controlled trial. As for me, I will be continuing to keep my phone in my trouser pocket."
Semen quality is determined by factors such as sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology - or shape. Prof Alison Campbell, chief scientific officer at Care Fertility, said: "Interestingly, sperm morphology and motility were not seen to decline, with increased use of mobile phones, like sperm numbers did. Whilst sperm numbers matter, the ability of sperm to swim, have healthy intact DNA and be the right shape, is at least as important."