CNN
September 18, 2009
Cell phones can affect sperm quality, researcher says
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(CNN) -- Keeping a cell phone on talk mode in a pocket can decrease
sperm quality, according to new research from the Cleveland Clinic. A
Cleveland Clinic study shows that mobile phones left on talk mode in a
pocket can hurt sperm quality.
A Cleveland Clinic study shows that mobile phones left on talk mode in
a pocket can hurt sperm quality.
"We believe that these devices are used because we consider them very
safe, but it could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the
phones and the exposure that they are causing to the gonads," says
lead researcher Ashok Agarwal, the Director of the Center for
Reproductive Medicine.
In the small study, Agarwal's team took semen samples from 32 men and
brought them to the lab. Each man's sample was placed into small,
conical tubes and divided into two parts: a test group and a control
group. The control group was unexposed to cell phone emissions, but
kept under the same conditions and temperature as the test group.
The semen in the test group was placed 2.5 centimeters from an 850 MHz
cell phone in talk mode for 1 hour. Researchers say that 850 MHz is
the most commonly used frequency.
They used the measurement of 2.5 centimeters to mimic the distance
between the trouser pocket and the testes. Agarwal reasoned that many
men keep their active cell phones in their pants pocket while talking
on their headsets.
Overall, researchers found an increase in oxidative stress such as a
significant increase in free radicals and oxidants and a decrease in
antioxidants. Agarwal says that equals a decrease in sperm's quality,
including motility and viability. Evidence of oxidative stress can
appear under other conditions, including exposure to certain
environmental pollutants or infections in the urinary genital tract.
"On average, there was an 85 percent increase in the amount of free
radicals for all the subjects in the study. Free radicals have been
linked to a variety of diseases in humans including cancer," said
Agarwal. Free radicals have been linked to decreased sperm quality in
previous studies.
However, the study does have major limitations, he acknowledged, such
as the small sample size. It also was conducted in a lab and so cannot
account for the protection a human body might offer, such as layers of
skin, bone and tissue. Agarwal is in the early stages of further
research that can model the human body's role in protecting from
radio-frequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones.
Agarwal also admits that there is no clear explanation of this
demonstrated effect, but he shared some of his theories. "Perhaps the
cell phone radiation is able to affect the gonads through a thermal
effect thereby increasing the temperature of the testes and causing
damaging effects in the sperm cell."
In a previous study, Agarwal and his team found that men who used
their cell phones more than four hours a day had significantly lower
sperm quality than those who used their cell phones for less
time. Those findings were based on self-reported data from 361
subjects.
While representatives from the cell phone industry had not yet
reviewed the latest study, they were careful not to give this study
much merit. "The weight of the published scientific evidence, in
addition to the opinion of global health organizations, shows that
there is no link between wireless usage and adverse health effects,"
said Joe Farren, a spokesman for the CTIA-the Wireless Association.
"We support good science and always have," he said. "It's important to
look at studies that are peer-reviewed and published in leading
journals and to listen to the experts."
Agarwal emphasized that it is far too early for men to start changing
cell phone carrying habits, noting that his own cell phone was in his
pocket as he talked to CNN.
"Our study has not provided proof that you should stop putting cell
phones in your pocket. There are many things that need to be proven
before we get to that stage," he said.
News source:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/condi...erm/index.html
PDF of the research paper is available here:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/ima...cwaves2008.pdf
***** Moderator's Note *****
OK, let's go through the checklist together:
1. It's not April 1st.
2. It was not a full moon last night.
3. CNN is "sorta" a major news outlet
OK, I'll let it through. But on this one, I'll side with the cellular
industry: when I see it in the New England Journal of Medicine, _then_
I'll believe it.
Bill Horne
Temporary Moderator
Please put [Telecom] at the end of your subject line, or I may never
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We have a new address for email submissions: telecomdigestmoderator
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Cell phones can effect sperm quality [telecom]
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