Planning to start a family? You might want to cut back on your cell phone time. A recent study from the Cleveland Clinic suspects that there might be a connection between a decline in male fertility and increased cell phone usage.
The Cleveland Clinic study included 364 men who were evaluated for infertility between September 2004 and October 2005. Testing tracked sperm quantity and quality; participants were also asked about cell phone use and habits.
The lowest average sperm counts (66 million per milliliter) seemed to come from men who used their cell phones for four hours or more per day. The highest average counts (86 million per milliliter) came from men who didn’t have cell phones at all. The Cleveland Clinic study found that sperm count appears to decline as cell phone use goes up. Men who used their cell phones for less than two hours per day had an average count of 76 million per milliliter. Men who used their cell phones between two and four hours per day had an average count of 71 million per milliliter.
To compare, the low end of what is considered “normal” in sperm counts is 20 million sperm per milliliter. So all the study participants were far above the minimum.
The Cleveland Clinic study also looked at sperm shape, number of living sperm, and percentage of good swimmers.
Researchers want to be clear: this study does NOT prove a link between cell phone use and declining male fertility. The findings are preliminary and more study has been planned. Earlier studies have come up with similar results, but none of the research can be considered conclusive. More studies are being planned and conducted.
Another study recently suggested that laptop use may influence sperm quality. The common link could be higher temperatures in the genital area — a laptop on your lap, or a warm cell phone battery in your pocket — decreasing sperm count. None of these environmental factors have been definitively proven to influence male fertility.
More information about fertility issues.
Read about being a father at the Parenting Blog.