Effect of cell phone usage on semen analysis in men attending infertility clinic: an observational study
Received 22 August 2006; received in revised form 31 January 2007; accepted 31 January 2007. published online 04 May 2007.
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.
aReproductive Research Center, Glickman Urological Institute and Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio
bKarthekeya Medical Research and Diagnostic Center, Mumbai, India
cDepartment of Quantitative Health, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio
Reprint requests: Dr. Ashok Agarwal, Professor, Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Director, Center for Advanced Research in Human, Reproduction, Infertility, and Sexual Function, Glickman Urological Institute and Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk A19.1, Cleveland, OH 44195 (FAX: 216-445-6049).
ABSTRACT