Carrying a mobile phone could
significantly affect a man's fertility, scientists
have suggested
Radiation from the phones could cut the number
of sperm a man has by a third, researchers from the University of Szeged,
Hungary, said. The research, presented to the European Society of Human
Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) meeting in Berlin, studied over 200
men.
But other experts have criticised their research,
saying it did not take any other aspects of the men's lives into account.
The Hungarian study is the first to look at how electromagnetic radiation
from mobiles could affect sperm.
The men who had their phone on standby throughout
the day had about a third less sperm
than those who did not.
You
can explain the difference by completely other ways than the use of a mobile
phone
Professor
Hans Evers, former chairman of ESHRE
And, of the remaining sperm, high numbers were
found to be swimming abnormally, reducing the chances of fertilisation.
The researchers say their findings suggest that mobiles do have a "negative
effect" on male sperm and fertility. But other experts at the ESHRE conference
said the Hungarian study did not allow for other factors which could have
affected the men's fertility.
Professor Hans Evers, the former chairman of
the European Society of Human Reproduction, said it "raises more questions
than it answers".
Other factors
He said the study had not taken into account
the "many potential confounding factors which could have skewed the results".
These could include whether the men who had affected sperm came from a
different social class or age range than those who did not. It was also
unclear whether the men were carrying their phones in their trouser pockets,
close to their bodies, or in briefcases away from them.
He said: "These factors would have a considerable
effect on the outcome of the research."
Professor Evers added: "Mobile phones are related
to a certain lifestyle and they may be related to stress, to a heavily
occupied business man rushing around from one office to another, having
a lot of concerns in the life; there's all kind of things.
"And it is known that this decreases sperm counts
and if you compare that to farmers living in the open air, on the land
and not carrying a mobile phone at all you can explain the difference by
completely other ways than the use of a mobile phone."
He said the only way to get a clearer picture
would be for scientists to carry out a study which was carefully designed
only to look at the effect of mobile phones on sperm.
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