29 October 2006
Mobiles Can Make Men Infertile
Men who use mobile phones face an increased risk of infertility, according to a new study, although scientists say it was too early to advise men whether they should limit their mobile phone use.
Researchers from US and India led by Mr.Ashok Agarwal, director of the Reproductive Research Centre at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, looked at more than 361 men undergoing checks at a fertility clinic who were classified into three groups according to their sperm count, reported the online edition of the Daily Mail.
Men who used mobile for more than four hours a day had a 25 percent lower sperm count than men who never used a mobile, the researchers found.
The men with the highest usage also had greater problems with sperm quality, with the swimming ability of sperms–a crucial factor in conception–down by a third.
They had a 50 per cent drop in the number of properly formed sperms, with just one-fifth looking normal under a microscope, the researchers said. The findings suggest millions of men may encounter difficulties in fathering a child due to the widespread use of mobile phone.