Phones are almost always on us or right next to us, emitting heat and radio frequency radiation. But overall, research has shown that these factors do not affect our health.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement on the subject, citing nearly 30 years of evidence that found no link between cell phone use and health problems, including cancer. In fact, the FDA has found that cell phones have no health effects other than generating heat and warming body tissues.
However, a new study raises questions about the impact our phones have on our bodies by linking cell phone use to an important men’s health outcome: sperm concentration.
For the study, published in the journal Fertility and sterilityResearchers analyzed data on health and lifestyle factors, including cell phone use and sperm quality, from nearly 3,000 college-aged men recruited into the Swiss military between 2005 and 2018.
Researchers found that men who used their cell phones frequently had lower sperm concentrations than men who didn’t use them much. Specifically, the median sperm concentration was 21% lower among men who used their phones more than 20 times per day. compared to men who used them about once a week. According to the study, this means that men who used their phones more had a 30% and 21% increased risk, respectively, that their sperm concentration and total sperm count were below what is considered the fertile range.
Sperm quality is vulnerable and very sensitive to external factors.
The researchers did not specifically measure whether this decrease in sperm concentration had an impact on fertility. However, because the difference in sperm concentration was relatively small, this probably wasn’t the case for most men, says Rita Rahban, Ph.D.principal investigator at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and first author of the study.
According to thresholds established by the World Health Organization, the chances of getting pregnant may decrease if a man’s sperm concentration is below about 40 million per milliliter, and men in the study who used their phones more than 20 times a day still had an average concentration of 44.5 million per milliliter.
Fortunately, the relationship between cell phone use and sperm probably isn’t as strong today as it was when the study began. Researchers also found that as time passed from the mid-2000s to the late 2010s, this link weakened, potentially because cell phone technology became more efficient.
At first, phones used 2G technology, which took longer to charge and produced more heat. Studies show that heat can reduce sperm quality, with bakers or other people regularly exposed to heat experiencing reductions in sperm concentrations compared to other groups. Since earlier cell phone technology could have increased users’ heat exposure, it could have had more of an effect on sperm than later 4G technology, according to Kevin Y. Chu, MDfertility specialist at Torrance Memorial in California, who was not involved in the study.
However, the study found no association between reduced sperm concentrations and whether or not men kept their phones in their pockets. This implies that something other than heat may be at play, Rahban says, like radiation.
When men use phones near their heads, it may be that radiation from their phones somehow affects hormones in the brain that regulate testicular function and therefore sperm count, Rahban says. “But,” she added, “we still need many more in-depth investigations to be able to say anything about how and what mechanism of action is actually at play.”
An important limitation of the study, according to Chu, is that the researchers measured cellphone use using questionnaires, so people’s responses might be obscured or limited to what they remembered about it. use of their cell phone.
Overall, the associations found in this study do not suggest that cell phone use will make men infertile.
Anyway, some evidence suggests that sperm quality was in decline since the 1940sand many blamed environmental factors like exposure to pesticides or radiation, as well as risky behaviors such as smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol.
“Sperm quality is vulnerable and very sensitive to external factors,” explains Rahban. His research team is currently conducting another study to further explore the effects of electromagnetic waves produced by cell phones on men’s bodies and reproductive health.
If you’re concerned about your sperm count, experts advise avoiding exposure to heat, such as not using hot tubs or saunas. Chu also recommends not using your hot laptop on your lap, especially if you work from home and are on your computer frequently. The standard healthy lifestyle advice – get enough exercise, eat a balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight, etc. – can also help prevent sperm concentration from dropping.
Overall, the associations found in this study do not suggest that cellphone use will make men infertile, and “for the majority of the population, this probably won’t be a problem,” Chu says. “None of this is definitive, and none of this should be alarmist either.”
However, the results suggest that assuming cell phones are neutral for our health is not the right approach.
“We shouldn’t take for granted that things aren’t harmful,” Chu says. “We need to look at this more and be more aware of it. »
