A comprehensive meta-study has revealed that mobile phone usage can reduce sperm quality, leading the authors to recommend that men with a desire to conceive should avoid using mobile phones. In recent decades, an increasing number of men have been suffering from infertility and subfertility. A meta-study from 2017 found that the decreasing sperm concentration is responsible for fertility problems. The reasons for the decline in sperm count and the resulting difficulty in fertilization have not been definitively determined, but it is believed that hormone-disrupting plastics, pesticide use in agriculture, and increasing stress may be contributing factors. Some scientists have also suggested that the use of wireless technology, such as mobile phones, may negatively affect sperm concentration.
Researchers at the University of Busan have conducted a meta-study to investigate whether electromagnetic radiofrequency waves (RF-EMWs) do indeed affect sperm concentration. The study builds on a meta-analysis from 2011, which found that RF-EMWs can negatively affect sperm concentration, motility, and viability. The South Korean research team analyzed new data from 2012 to 2021, including 18 studies with at least 4,200 sperm samples each. The analysis shows a statistically significant correlation between sperm quality and mobile phone use, both in sperm cultures in the laboratory and in living humans.
The study’s lead author, Yun Hak Kim, recommends that male mobile phone users with a desire to conceive should try to reduce their usage to protect their sperm quality. However, the causal relationship between mobile phone use and poorer sperm quality was not investigated in the meta-study. Further research is needed to determine why RF-EMWs have a negative effect on sperm quality. The findings of this study are significant, as they suggest that mobile phone use may be a contributing factor to the decline in sperm concentration and fertility problems in men.
