Infertility Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Infertility, including details on male and female infertility, treatment, causes, pregnancy.

Effect of cell phone usage on semen analysis in men attending infertility clinic: an observational study.

Agarwal A, Deepinder F, Sharma RK, Ranga G, Li J

Reproductive Research Center, Glickman Urological Institute and Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. agarwaa@ccf.org

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cell phone use on various markers of semen quality. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): Three hundred sixty-one men undergoing infertility evaluation were divided into four groups according to their active cell phone use: group A: no use; group B: <2 h/day; group C: 2-4 h/day; and group D: >4 h/day. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm parameters (volume, liquefaction time, pH, viscosity, sperm count, motility, viability, and morphology). RESULT(S): The comparisons of mean sperm count, motility, viability, and normal morphology among four different cell phone user groups were statistically significant. Mean sperm motility, viability, and normal morphology were significantly different in cell phone user groups within two sperm count groups. The laboratory values of the above four sperm parameters decreased in all four cell phone user groups as the duration of daily exposure to cell phones increased. CONCLUSION(S): Use of cell phones decrease the semen quality in men by decreasing the sperm count, motility, viability, and normal morphology. The decrease in sperm parameters was dependent on the duration of daily exposure to cell phones and independent of the initial semen quality.

Published 14 January 2008 in Fertil Steril, 89(1): 124-8.
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