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Cell Phone Use
Cell Phone Use Linked to Male Infertility
Hands-Free Calls May Expose Sperm to Radiation
Sept. 19, 2008 -- Men, beware: Using a hands-free device with a cell phone may affect your fertility if you keep your phone close to your testicles, Cleveland Clinic researchers warn in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Men who use these hands-free devices tend to carry their cell phones in their pants pocket or clipped to their belts at the waist while in talk mode. As a result, they may be exposing their testicles to damaging radiofrequency electromagnetic waves, explains Ashok Agarwal, PhD, head of the andrology laboratory and the director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Glickman Urologoical and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
"The Bluetooth devices, which many people are using these days because of health or safety concerns, may not be always so safe. There is a downside," he says.
Cell Phone Radiation Affects Sperm Quality
To arrive at their findings, researchers collected semen samples from 32 men and divided each man's sample into two parts. They placed half of the semen samples 2.5 centimeters away from a 850 MHz frequency cell phone in talk mode for one hour. Most cell phones used in the U.S. are 850-900 MHz. They chose this distance because it is the typical distance between the testes and the trouser pockets.
Previous research from the same group showed that radiofrequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones can impair sperm quality, and the new study shows why this may occur. Semen exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones had higher levels of damaging free radicals, lower sperm motility (the ability of the sperm to move and swim) and sperm viability (the percentage of live sperm), and possibly greater oxidative stress, the study shows. There were no significant differences in DNA damage between the exposed and unexposed groups.
"Our findings appear to be in line with other concerns that environmental factors such as toxins, pollutants, and materials used in farming play a role in male infertility," Agarwal says.
Further study is needed to validate the findings. "We will also test the effect [of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones] at other distances," he says. "We know the radiation impairs sperm quality at 2.5 centimeters, but we don't know if the effect will continue at 3, 4, or 5 centimeters," he says.
Future studies will determine if there is dangerous emission when the phone is in silent or standby mode.
"The emission may be smaller than when in talk mode, but could it still be harmful if it reaches the testes," he says.
Do Ask, Do Tell
Sami David, MD, a New York City-based reproductive endocrinologist, tells WebMD that he asks every male patient where they keep their cell phones and whether they use a hands-free device.
Do Ask, Do Tell continued...
"You want it to stay far away from the testicles," he says. "I am more worried about the people that talk for three or four hours a day with the cell phone in their pocket than those who talk for shorter periods."
It's more than just cell phones. Other factors can affect male infertility, he says. "Men should not place their laptop on their laps due to the heat from the battery," he tells WebMD. "Jacuzzis, tub baths, toxins, and fumes can all play a role in male infertility and should be discussed."
Given the mechanism proposed by the new study, David says that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E may help reverse oxidative stress in sperm. He suggests all his male patients take certain antioxidants even when their sperm is normal.
Joe Farren, the assistant vice president for public affairs at CTIA, a wireless communications trade group, urges caution in interpreting the new findings, as well as other studies on how wireless phone usage affects health. "When you examine the weight of available scientific research that has been published and peer-reviewed and listen to leading health organizations around the world, you will find no association between wireless usage and adverse health effects," he tells WebMD. "We believe science has to guide this issue."
By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Radio waves from cellphones damage sperm, study says
Attention male cellphone users of reproductive age: Take that phone out of your pocket. Information published today suggests that the radio-frequency energy released by cellphones decreases sperm quality in men.
Last year, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic released a study showing that men who used their cellphones for more than four hours a day had significantly lower sperm quality than men who used their phones for less time. That study, however, did not reveal what might be causing this association. The new study by the same research group, published online today in Fertility & Sterility, took sperm samples from 32 men and divided the samples into two parts for a test group and a control group. The test group specimens were placed an inch from a 850 MHz cellphone that was in talk mode. Measurements taken after the one-hour exposure showed that the sperm exposed to the cellphone contained higher levels of harmful free radicals and a decreased amount of protective antioxidants compared with the unexposed sperm. These factors caused a decline in the sperm's function and motility and in the overall health of the sperm. However, there was no significant difference in damage to the DNA of the exposed cells.
For now, the amount of radio-frequency energy released from cellphones is considered safe. But there are looming questions about the long-term and heavy use of cellphones. Links between brain cancer and cellphones have been suggested, for example. And a recent study found a link between women who used a cellphone in pregnancy and later behavior problems in their children. See this recent L.A. Times Health section story on cellphones and the risk of disease.
Further studies are needed to determine if the results seen in the laboratory sperm samples hold true in men. Many men put their phones in a trouser pocket when using a hands-free device. In the lab, the sperm and cellphone were placed side-by-side. But in real life, the phone and the male reproductive organs are separated by several layers of tissue. Still, men who are planning a family may want to play it safe and keep the active phone a safe distance from their reproductive parts.
"Since many people are now using hands-free sets with their cellphones for various health and safety reasons, it's important that we continue studying this topic to gain a better understanding of the true impact these devices are having on every part of the body," said Dr. Edmund Sabanegh, director of the Center for Male Fertility for the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/09/radio-waves-fro.html
by Shari Roan
