Study: Cell Phone Use Could Negatively Impact Male Fertility
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Men looking to have a child might want to cut down on their cell phone use – or at least refrain from putting their phone in their pants pocket.
According to a new study published in the journal Environment International, mobile phone use could have a negative effect on sperm.
The scientists reportedly looked at ten studies, including nearly 1500 samples of semen from adult men. Fifty to 80 percent of sperm cells from men with no exposure to cell phones were able to move normally towards an egg, but that number dropped by eight percent among men who used phones. Furthermore, sperm "viability," or the sperm's ability to survive, also decreased in about the same proportion among men who used cell phones.
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Researchers say that about 14% of couples in middle- and high-income countries are unable to conceive, and some think this may be related to mobile phone use. The potential culprit? Radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation, or RF-EMR, which is emitted by phones.
"Further study is required to determine the full clinical implications for both sub-fertile men and the general population," the scientists write.
But you may want to err on the safe side if you're part of a couple trying for a little one.
For more info on the study, click here.