A new study shows that where your phone is stored probably doesn’t matter. 4G is said to be less harmful than 2G. It is the largest study of its kind, but some questions remain unanswered.
Cell phone use can have a negative impact on sperm quality. The more a man calls, texts or surfs the Internet, the lower the quality of his sperm, a new Swiss study shows. Men who use their cell phones more than 20 times a day have about a fifth fewer sperm per milliliter of ejaculate than men who use their cell phones a maximum of five times a day. This indirectly reduces fertility.
However, high levels of cell phone use had no effect on sperm motility and morphology, as shown in the study published Wednesday in the journal “Fertility and Sterility”. Researchers from the Swiss Institute of Tropical and Public Health (Swiss TPH) and the University of Geneva (Unige) analyzed sperm from 2,886 men aged 18 to 22 recruited into the military between 2005 and 2018, the two institutions reported. Young people responded to a questionnaire about their lifestyle habits, health status and frequency of cell phone use. They were also asked where they put the device when they are not using it.
Apparently the largest study in the world on the subject
This is the world’s largest study on the subject, study co-author Martin Röösli of Swiss TPH told the Keystone-SDA news agency. “The issue has not been taken seriously by science until now,” said Röösli. However, the data on which the new study was based was originally collected for a different analysis. The study should therefore be seen as a first step, said Röösli. To make more reliable statements, further investigation is needed.
According to Unige and Swiss TPH’s announcement, data analysis also indicated that phone storage location is not associated with worse sperm quality. According to Röösli, the number of people who stated in the study that they did not carry their cell phone close to their body was too small to make any firm statement about it.
Did people’s lifestyles distort the study?
The study also showed that the effect of high cell phone usage decreased during the study period. Researchers explain this with the transition of transmission technology from 2G to 3G and later to 4G. “Cell phone reception has improved over time, so less radiation is needed,” explained Röösli.
According to Röösli, this result suggests that cell phone radiation could be to blame for the loss of sperm concentration. “But it would also be possible that other factors, such as lifestyle, could have distorted the results,” said the scientist.
The problem does not just exist in Switzerland. Numerous studies carried out in other countries have shown that sperm quality has declined over the last 50 years, as Unige and Swiss TPH wrote. Experts believe that this phenomenon is due to a combination of environmental factors (endocrine disruptors, pesticides, radiation) and behavioral factors (diet, alcohol, stress, smoking). (APA/sda)