Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Carmel Medical Center are warning men there is a risk in speaking on cell phones for more than an hour daily.
According to a new study, the sperm count dropped to levels below the fertility rate in men who used their mobile phones for more than an hour a day. The team studied the cell phone usage of men who were referred for semen analysis, and the connection between the two.
Speaking on a cell phone while it is charging, or speaking on the device for more than an hour a day doubled the risk for low sperm count, the study found.
Researchers at the two institutions published the findings Tuesday in the medical journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online. The team was led by Dr. Ariel Zilberlicht of the Carmel Medical Center.
The findings indicated the sperm counts dropped among men who held their cell phones approximately two feet or less from their groins while speaking or charging.
Abnormally low sperm counts were recorded among 47 percent of those who kept their phones in their pants pockets throughout the day, in comparison to only 11 percent of the general male population.
Sperm quality is the determining factor in 40 percent of the cases involving couples struggling with fertility in the Western world, according to the researchers. The quality of sperm among men in Western nations is dropping; these findings increase the concern that galloping technological advances may only be adding to the problem.
Numerous researchers and technicians now recommend consumers turn off their cell phone while charging the device, and use a headset or headphones as much as possible.