8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Reproductive Health175 citations

Whole-body microwave exposure emitted by cellular phones and testicular function of rats.

Bioeffects Seen

Dasdag, S, Ketani, MA, Akdag, Z, Ersay, AR, Sar,i I, Demirtas ,OC, Celik, MS · 1999

View Original Abstract
Share:

Cell phone radiation at 0.141 W/kg caused structural damage to rat testes, suggesting active phone use may impact male reproductive health.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed male rats to cell phone radiation for 2 hours daily over one month and examined their reproductive organs. They found that phones actively making calls (not just on standby) caused structural changes in the testes, specifically shrinking the seminiferous tubules where sperm are produced. The study also recorded higher body temperatures in rats exposed to active phone radiation.

Why This Matters

This 1999 study provides early evidence that cell phone radiation can affect male reproductive tissue, particularly when phones are actively transmitting during calls. The SAR level of 0.141 W/kg is well below current safety limits but still produced measurable structural changes in testicular tissue. What makes this research significant is that it demonstrates biological effects at relatively low exposure levels and distinguishes between standby and active phone use - showing that transmission power matters. The temperature increase in exposed animals suggests the mechanism may involve both thermal and non-thermal effects. This study adds to a growing body of research linking EMF exposure to male fertility concerns, an issue that has only become more relevant as phone use has dramatically increased since 1999.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.141 W/kg
Exposure Duration
2 h/day for a duration of 1 month

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.141 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern rangeFCC limit is 11x higher than this level

Study Details

This study investigated whether there are adverse effects due to microwave exposure emitted by cellular phones in male rats.

Eighteen Wistar Albino rats were separated into three groups, a sham group and two experimental grou...

The decrease of epididymal sperm counts in the speech groups were not found to be significant (P > 0...

Cite This Study
Dasdag, S, Ketani, MA, Akdag, Z, Ersay, AR, Sar,i I, Demirtas ,OC, Celik, MS (1999). Whole-body microwave exposure emitted by cellular phones and testicular function of rats. Urol Res 27(3):219-223, 1999.
Show BibTeX
@article{dasdag_1999_wholebody_microwave_exposure_emitted_922,
  author = {Dasdag and S and Ketani and MA and Akdag and Z and Ersay and AR and Sar andi I and Demirtas  andOC and Celik and MS},
  title = {Whole-body microwave exposure emitted by cellular phones and testicular function of rats.},
  year = {1999},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10422825/},
}
PubMed: 10422825

Cited By (175 papers)

View all 175 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, a 1999 study found that rats exposed to active cell phone radiation for 2 hours daily showed significantly smaller seminiferous tubules (where sperm are produced) compared to unexposed rats. Phones on standby also caused shrinkage, but active calling had stronger effects.
Research shows that rats exposed to cell phone radiation during active calls had significantly higher rectal temperatures both during and after exposure. The study found this heating effect only occurred with phones actively making calls, not on standby mode.
A study using 0.141 W/kg SAR exposure found structural changes in rat testes after one month of daily 2-hour exposures. This relatively low SAR level caused seminiferous tubule diameter reduction, suggesting biological effects occur at modest radiation levels.
Research found that one month of daily 2-hour cell phone exposure did not significantly reduce sperm counts in rats, despite causing structural changes to the testes. The study showed tissue damage occurred before measurable sperm count reductions.
Yes, a rat study found that phones making active calls caused greater testicular damage than standby mode. Both conditions reduced seminiferous tubule diameter, but only active calling significantly raised body temperature and caused more pronounced structural changes.