Cell phones do not cause brain tumors but may decrease male fertility

A study of 361 men seen at Cleveland Clinic found an association between heavy cell phone use and sperm quality: the more hours the men spent on their cell phones each day, the lower their sperm count and the greater the percentage of abnormal sperm.

The study was observational and did not mention if decreasing the cell phones use led to improvement in the sperm parameters.

According to the authors, the research shows a strong association of cell phone use with decreased semen quality but does not prove a cause-and- effect relationship. A larger follow-up study is currently underway.

References:
Effect of cell phone usage on semen analysis in men attending infertility clinic: an observational study. Agarwal A, Deepinder F, Sharma RK, Ranga G, Li J. Fertil Steril. 2008 Jan;89(1):124-8. Epub 2007 May 4.
Heavy cell phone use tied to poorer sperm quality. Reuters.
Japanese study clears mobiles of brain cancer risk. Reuters.
Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Related:
'Cancer link' to heavy mobile use. BBC, 02/2008.
Cancer and cell phones. Paging Dr. Gupta, 06/2008.

Updated: 06/14/2008