Cell Phone Use Tied To Low Sperm Count
Researchers are not exactly sure how it happens, but studies have indicated that cell phones can damage sperm.
Scientists at the University of Newcastle, Australia, irradiated sperm with radio waves that were of the same frequency as cell phones.
After 16 hours of exposure, there was clear evidence of DNA damage.
Australian researchers believe the DNA is damaged by oxidative stress, which is the result of free-radicals attacking the antioxidant defenses.
DNA damage in sperm has been linked to cancer, decreased fertility, and even to conditions such as bipolarism and autism.
In another study, this one presented to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, scientists at the University of Szeged in Hungary found that men who had their phone on standby throughout the day had a third less sperm than those who did not have a phone.
However, other Hungarian researchers said the results could possibly be from other factors and that the study raised more questions than answers.
And in the most well known study, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found a link between a patient’s sperm count and their cell phone use.
The 361 men in the study were divided into four groups: 40 who never use a cell phone, 107 men who said they used a phone less than two hours per day, 100 men who used their phone for two to four hours daily, and 114 men using a phone four or more hours a day.
The study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, found that a man’s sperm count and quality typically declined as cell phone use increased.
Men who used their phone more than four hours a day had a 50% drop in the number of normal sperm and a 25% lower sperm count.
