Fertility study in Switzerland: How frequent mobile phone use is bad for sperm quality

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Mobile phone use may have a negative impact on sperm quality. The more often a man calls, texts or surfs the Internet, the lower the quality of his sperm, according to a new study from Switzerland.

Men who use their cell phones more than 20 times a day have one-fifth less sperm per milliliter of ejaculation than men who use their cell phones no more than five times a day, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal “Fertility and Sterility.” ” showed. This indirectly reduces their fertility. However, high levels of mobile phone use had no effect on sperm motility or shape, according to the study.

4G is less harmful than 3G

Researchers from the Swiss Institute of Tropical and Public Health (Swiss TPH) and the University of Geneva (Unige) analyzed the sperm of 2,886 men aged 18 to 22 who were drafted into military units between 2005 and 2018, the two institutions reported. Young men were given a survey about their lifestyle habits, health status and how often they use their mobile phones. They were also asked where they put their devices when not in use.

Speaking to the Keystone-SDA news agency from Switzerland’s TPH, Martin Röösli, co-author of the study, said that this is the world’s largest study on the subject. “This question has not been taken seriously in science until now,” Röösli said. But the data on which the new study is based was originally collected for a different analysis. Röösli said that the study should therefore be seen as a first step. Further research is needed to make more reliable statements.

Analysis of the data also showed that where the phone was stored was not associated with decreased sperm quality, according to Unige and Swiss TPH. According to Röösli, the number of people in the study who stated that they do not carry their mobile phones close to their bodies was too small to make a definitive statement on this issue.

The study also showed that the impact of high cell phone usage diminished over the study period. Researchers explain this by switching transmission technology from 2G to 3G and then to 4G. “The reception of mobile phones has become better over time, so less radiation is needed,” explained Röösli.

Sperm quality has been declining for decades

According to Röösli, this result shows that radiation emitted from mobile phones may be responsible for the loss of sperm concentration. “But it is also possible that other factors, such as lifestyle, may have skewed the results,” the scientist said.

Based on the same data set, scientists showed in 2019 that sperm quality in Swiss men is in critical condition. Six out of ten men had at least one quality environment below the standard values ​​set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Switzerland is not alone in this. As Unige and Swiss TPH write, numerous studies have shown that sperm quality has declined over the past 50 years. Experts believe that this phenomenon is caused by a combination of environmental factors (endocrine disruptors, pesticides, radiation) and behavioral factors (diet, alcohol, stress, smoking). (SDA)

Source : Blick