Current progress on the effect of mobile phone radiation on sperm quality: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of human and animal studies

Yu, Gang; Bai, Zhiming; Song, Chao; Cheng, Qing; Wang, Gang; Tang, Zeping; Yang, Sixing

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116952

Cited by 23 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Agarwal et al (2009) also found that the non-thermal effects of RF-EMR could increase oxidative stress and lead to sperm DNA damage. The latest mateanalysis, which included 39 studies, showed that mobile phone RF-EMR exposure could reduce the motility and viability of mature human sperm in vitro, and the same conclusion was drawn from the pooled results of animal studies (Yu et al 2021). However, the results of the current research were contradictory.…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

Effects of mobile phone use on semen parameters: a cross-sectional study of 1634 men in China

Zhang

Chang

et al. 2022

Reprod. Fertil. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mobile phones play an irreplaceable role in modern people’s lives. However, the radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation produced by mobile phones has also caused increasing concern. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation produced by mobile phones on semen parameters in 1634 men who underwent semen examination at the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China. Analysis of variance and multivariate linear regression were used to explore differences among different groups. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The results showed significant associations among different groups of daily mobile phone use time and daily duration of phone calls in the percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa (P = 0.004 and P = 0.007), rapid progressively motile spermatozoa (P = 0.012 and P = 0.006) and total motile spermatozoa (P = 0.004 and P = 0.046). After adjustments for the confounding effects of age and body mass index by multiple linear regression, the results showed that the daily duration of mobile phone use had a negative effect on sperm motility. However, there was no statistically significant correlation between daily phone call duration and sperm motility. Therefore, the daily duration of mobile phone use may negatively affect sperm motility and impair male fertility.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 78%

Effects of mobile phone use on semen parameters: a cross-sectional study of 1634 men in China

Zhang

Chang

et al. 2022

Reprod. Fertil. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Human and animal studies have shown that the testis is one of the most sensitive organs to RF-EMF exposures, and that keeping a mobile phone in trouser pockets in talk mode can affect fertility parameters e.g., sperm motility, sperm count, sperm morphology, and apoptosis [ 48 , 51 ]. Meta-analyses of published epidemiologic studies on the impact of mobile phone radiation on sperm quality in adult men have found significant decreases in sperm motility, sperm viability and/or sperm concentrations that were associated with mobile phone usage [ 52 – 55 ]. Several physical factors associated with exposure conditions can affect the outcome of human studies, including depth of energy penetration, duration of call, type of transmission technology, distance of the device to the body or testis, and power density with defined SAR.…”

Section: Assumptions Underlying Exposure Limits For Rf Radiation and ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific evidence invalidates health assumptions underlying the FCC and ICNIRP exposure limit determinations for radiofrequency radiation: implications for 5G

Belyaev¹,

Blackman²,

Chamberlin³

et al. 2022

Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the late-1990s, the FCC and ICNIRP adopted radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure limits to protect the public and workers from adverse effects of RFR. These limits were based on results from behavioral studies conducted in the 1980s involving 40–60-minute exposures in 5 monkeys and 8 rats, and then applying arbitrary safety factors to an apparent threshold specific absorption rate (SAR) of 4 W/kg. The limits were also based on two major assumptions: any biological effects were due to excessive tissue heating and no effects would occur below the putative threshold SAR, as well as twelve assumptions that were not specified by either the FCC or ICNIRP. In this paper, we show how the past 25 years of extensive research on RFR demonstrates that the assumptions underlying the FCC’s and ICNIRP’s exposure limits are invalid and continue to present a public health harm. Adverse effects observed at exposures below the assumed threshold SAR include non-thermal induction of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, cardiomyopathy, carcinogenicity, sperm damage, and neurological effects, including electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Also, multiple human studies have found statistically significant associations between RFR exposure and increased brain and thyroid cancer risk. Yet, in 2020, and in light of the body of evidence reviewed in this article, the FCC and ICNIRP reaffirmed the same limits that were established in the 1990s. Consequently, these exposure limits, which are based on false suppositions, do not adequately protect workers, children, hypersensitive individuals, and the general population from short-term or long-term RFR exposures. Thus, urgently needed are health protective exposure limits for humans and the environment. These limits must be based on scientific evidence rather than on erroneous assumptions, especially given the increasing worldwide exposures of people and the environment to RFR, including novel forms of radiation from 5G telecommunications for which there are no adequate health effects studies.

show abstract

“…Since Carlsen and colleagues’ first multicentre study examining temporal trends in human sperm production 6 was published in 1992, a large body of data has examined the relationships between human semen characteristics and environmental or occupational chemicals such as pesticides 176 and heavy metals 177 , with a focus on endocrine disruptors 11 , 178 , 179 , ambient air pollution 180 , heat 181 , cell phones 182 , psychological stress 183 – 185 , smoking 186 , 187 , diet 188 , 189 , BMI 190 , diseases leading to impaired general health 191 and sexually transmitted diseases 192 . These studies have yielded mixed results, ranging from some that suggest major roles to some that suggest none.…”

Section: Considering the Data As A Wholementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal trends in human semen quality

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the past four decades, studies of various designs have reported spatial and temporal trends in human semen quality. Several standardized-methodology studies in homogeneous populations that compare specific cities within a country or a continent provide clear evidence of geographical differences in sperm production, even over short distances within the same country. Human sperm production is widely believed to be declining over time, but evidence from the scientific literature is less clear. Studies based on repeated cross-sectional data from a single centre have shown mixed results. Among the numerous retrospective studies conducted in a single centre, only some included homogeneous groups of men and appropriate methods, and most of them suggest a temporal decrease in human sperm production in the geographical areas considered. Conclusions reporting temporal trends in sperm production that came from existing retrospective multicentre studies based on individual semen data and those using means, medians or estimates of sperm production are questionable, owing to intrinsic limitations in the studies performed. Regardless of study design, studies on the percentage of motile or morphologically normal spermatozoa are still limited by the inherent variability in assessment. Overall, available data do not enable us to conclude that human semen quality is deteriorating worldwide or in the Western world, but that a trend is observed in some specific areas. To understand these trends and contrasts in sperm and semen quality, prospective studies should be encouraged and combined with assessment of the male exposome.

show abstract

Current progress on the effect of mobile phone radiation on sperm quality: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of human and animal studies

Cited by 23 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of mobile phone use on semen parameters: a cross-sectional study of 1634 men in China

Effects of mobile phone use on semen parameters: a cross-sectional study of 1634 men in China

Scientific evidence invalidates health assumptions underlying the FCC and ICNIRP exposure limit determinations for radiofrequency radiation: implications for 5G

Spatiotemporal trends in human semen quality

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About