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

2022 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 832

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effects of mobile phone use on semen parameters: a cross-sectional study of 1634 men in China Shanshan Zhang, Fengyi Mo, Yali Chang, Shufang Wu, Qing Ma, Fan Jin, Lanfeng Xing. Effects of mobile phone use on semen parameters: a cross-sectional study of 1634 men in China. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2022 Apr 19. doi: 10.1071/RD21234. Abstract 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. Conclusion Our results suggest that the average daily cell phone use duration may affect sperm motility to some extent, leading to a decrease in sperm motility. Therefore, we recommend that men of reproductive age avoid prolonged durations of using mobile phones. In addition, more well-designed cross-sectional investigations and mechanistic studies are needed in the future to clarify the effects of RF-EMR produced by mobile phones on male semen quality. Open access paper: publish.csiro.au

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional

Effect directionmixed

PopulationMen undergoing semen examination at the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China

Sample size1634

ExposureRF · daily duration of mobile phone use; daily duration of phone calls

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In group comparisons, daily mobile phone use time and daily duration of phone calls were significantly associated with progressively motile, rapid progressively motile, and total motile spermatozoa. After adjustment for age and BMI, daily duration of mobile phone use showed a negative effect on sperm motility, while daily phone call duration was not statistically significantly correlated with sperm motility.

Outcomes measured

Semen parameters (sperm motility)
Percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa
Rapid progressively motile spermatozoa
Total motile spermatozoa

Limitations

Cross-sectional design (cannot establish causality)
Exposure characterization limited to self-reported duration measures; no RF exposure metrics (e.g., frequency, SAR) reported in abstract
Confounding control described only for age and BMI in adjusted model (other potential confounders not specified in abstract)
Population drawn from men undergoing semen examination at a single hospital/department, which may limit generalizability

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "daily duration of mobile phone use; daily duration of phone calls"
  },
  "population": "Men undergoing semen examination at the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China",
  "sample_size": 1634,
  "outcomes": [
    "Semen parameters (sperm motility)",
    "Percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa",
    "Rapid progressively motile spermatozoa",
    "Total motile spermatozoa"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In group comparisons, daily mobile phone use time and daily duration of phone calls were significantly associated with progressively motile, rapid progressively motile, and total motile spermatozoa. After adjustment for age and BMI, daily duration of mobile phone use showed a negative effect on sperm motility, while daily phone call duration was not statistically significantly correlated with sperm motility.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Cross-sectional design (cannot establish causality)",
    "Exposure characterization limited to self-reported duration measures; no RF exposure metrics (e.g., frequency, SAR) reported in abstract",
    "Confounding control described only for age and BMI in adjusted model (other potential confounders not specified in abstract)",
    "Population drawn from men undergoing semen examination at a single hospital/department, which may limit generalizability"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mobile phone",
    "radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation",
    "RF-EMR",
    "semen parameters",
    "sperm motility",
    "male fertility",
    "China",
    "cross-sectional"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.95,
      "reason": "Study evaluates mobile phone RF-EMR exposure in relation to semen parameters."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1071/rd21234
PubMed: Not supplied

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