Scientists have discovered the impact of mobile phones on sperm quality

Swiss scientists, having conducted a large-scale study among young men, have established a reliable connection between frequent use of a mobile phone and… sperm quality. Until now, scientists have not tried to look at the situation with sperm quality from this angle. And as soon as they looked, they grabbed their heads. If things have gone this far, it is possible that it is time to raise the issue of regulating the use of cellular communications in the male population.

It is known that over the past decades, scientists have noted a decrease in the quality of sperm of men around the world. Over the past 60 years, the global standard for the number of sperm per milliliter of semen has changed three times. And now it has decreased by 6 (!) times compared to the original.

There are many hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. They mainly relate to environmental factors, including the use of pesticides, radiation and lifestyle changes, including diet, alcohol, stress and smoking. But the exact reason why modern men are becoming less and less men has not been established.

“If 60 years ago the norm was considered to be up to 120 million sperm per milliliter of semen, 30 years ago the norm was reduced to 60 million/ml, and today it is already 20 million/ml,” says the head of the department of endocrinology of the Russian Peoples’ Friendship University, vice-president of the Russian representative office of the International Society for the Study of Aging in Men, Professor Svetlana Kalinchenko. – You won’t find a man who would have 120 million sperm in a milliliter of semen now – we don’t have such patients. If we don’t understand why this is happening, in 20-30 years we will only get offspring through artificial insemination clinics.”

And now scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Tropical and Public Health (Swiss TPH), have published a major study in the journal Fertility & Sterilit that may lift the curtain on the mystery of sperm. They decided to find out whether electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones affects its quality. And they concluded: frequent use of mobile phones is associated with lower sperm concentration and total sperm count.

Scientists explain that sperm quality is determined by assessing parameters such as sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a man will likely take years to conceive if his sperm count is below 15 million per milliliter. In addition, the percentage chance of pregnancy will decrease if the sperm concentration is below 40 million per milliliter.

However, over the past half century, sperm counts have dropped from an average of 99 million sperm per milliliter to 47 million per milliliter. Until now, scientists have not studied the possible contribution of mobile phones to this unpleasant trend. But now a study was conducted that examined data from 2,886 Swiss men aged 18 to 22 years. The men completed a detailed questionnaire regarding their lifestyle, general health and the frequency with which they used their phones, as well as where they placed them when not in use.

These data revealed an association between frequent use and lower sperm concentration. The average sperm concentration was significantly higher in the group of men who did not use the phone more than once a week (56.5 million/ml), compared with men who used the phone more than 20 times a day (44.5 million/ml). The adjusted risk of lower sperm concentration was also observed in the group of men who used the phone 5-10 times a day.

Overall, frequent mobile phone use increased the risk of sperm concentration below reference values ​​by 30% and total sperm count by 21%. No consistent association was found between mobile phone use and sperm motility or sperm morphology.

Here are some other observations from the scientists: Men who used their cell phones more often had a higher body mass index (22.8 kilograms per square meter) compared to men who rarely used their phones (21 kilograms per square meter). In addition, men who used their phones frequently (more than 20 times a day) were more likely to smoke and drink.

The data analysis also showed that the location of the phone – for example, in a trouser pocket – was not associated with lower sperm counts. However, the number of people in this cohort who indicated that they did not carry their phone close to their body was too small to draw a truly reliable conclusion on this particular question. Overall, 85.7% of men reported keeping their phone in their pants pockets.

However, scientists admit that their conclusions are based on data that the participants themselves reported, and, as Dr. House liked to say, the patient always lies. To address this limitation, another study was initiated in 2023. Its goal is to directly and accurately measure exposure to electromagnetic waves, as well as types of use—calling, web browsing, messaging—and assess their impact on men’s reproductive health. and fertility potential. Data will be collected using an application that each future participant will download to their mobile phone. The research team is actively recruiting participants for this study. The new technique will also help to understand whether microwaves emitted by mobile phones cause an increase in testicular temperature, and whether they affect the hormonal regulation of sperm production. The results promise to be interesting.

By the way, earlier studies (albeit on mice) demonstrated that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones has a negative effect on the germ cell cycle, increases the risk of sperm death and causes histological changes in the testes. Such effects have not yet been studied in humans.

It is known that today the contribution of men to infertility (it affects 17% of Russian families) is 45%. The causes of male infertility can be environmental factors, bad habits, genetic pathologies, injuries, certain diseases, and taking a number of medications. About a third of cases of male infertility stem from hormonal disorders.

As geneticist Natalya Vetrova says, disruption of the processes of formation, maturation and motility of sperm is often a consequence of a violation of the male genome. As a result, their number decreases, and abnormal forms of sperm appear, incapable of fertilization. “If the patient does not have any anatomical features, hormonal disorders or infectious diseases, he should undergo genetic testing,” Vetrova notes.

However, the role of environmental factors in this process, as it turns out, is also great.