Is there a relationship between cell phone use and semen quality?
Fejes I, Za Vaczki Z, Szollosi J, Kolosza R S, Daru J, Kova Cs L, PaL A · 2005
View Original AbstractHeavy cell phone users showed 17% fewer fast-swimming sperm than light users, suggesting everyday phone use may impact male fertility.
Plain English Summary
Researchers at the University of Szeged studied 371 men to examine whether cell phone use affects sperm quality. They found that men who used their phones more frequently and for longer periods had significantly slower-swimming sperm, with heavy users showing 48.7% fast-swimming sperm compared to 40.6% in light users. This matters because sperm motility (swimming ability) is crucial for male fertility.
Why This Matters
This 2005 Hungarian study represents early but important evidence linking everyday cell phone use to male reproductive health. What makes this research particularly significant is its focus on sperm motility rather than just sperm count. The science demonstrates that faster-swimming sperm are more likely to successfully fertilize an egg, making this 8.1 percentage point difference between light and heavy users clinically meaningful. The study's correlation coefficients, while modest, show consistent patterns across multiple measures of phone usage. What this means for you is that the radiofrequency radiation from cell phones may be affecting male fertility in ways that weren't widely recognized two decades ago. This research helped establish the foundation for dozens of subsequent studies examining EMF effects on reproduction, many of which have found similar patterns of reduced sperm quality with increased exposure.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
This study was conducted to determine a possible relationship between regular cell phone use and different human semen attributes.
The history-taking of men in our university clinic was supplemented with questions concerning cell p...
The duration of possession and the daily transmission time correlated negatively with the proportion...
The prolonged use of cell phones may have negative effects on the sperm motility characteristics.
Show BibTeX
@article{i_2005_is_there_a_relationship_2077,
author = {Fejes I and Za Vaczki Z and Szollosi J and Kolosza R S and Daru J and Kova Cs L and PaL A},
title = {Is there a relationship between cell phone use and semen quality?},
year = {2005},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16087567/},
}