Men who carry their mobiles around their waists may be making themselves less fertile, scientists say
Hong Kong men have been warned they may be risking more than their street credibility by wearing mobile phones on their belts: they may also be putting their fertility in jeopardy.
A study presented to an international conference in Berlin last week suggested that carrying a handset around all day, particularly in a belt holster or trouser pocket, can reduce sperm counts by up to 30 per cent.
Tests found that men who carry a switched-on mobile phone had sperm counts averaging 59 million sperm per millilitre of seminal fluid, compared with 83 million for men who do not carry mobile phones. The study suggests that electromagnetic signals emitted by mobile phones may affect sperm counts - and that the closer the phone is carried to a man's sensitive areas, the higher the risk of a man's fertility being affected.
A team of scientists from the University of Szeged in Hungary studied 221 men over a period of 13 months, comparing the sperm of men who carried mobile phones most of the day with those who did not own a phone.
The scientists also found that the motility of sperm - its ability to swim - was affected by mobile-phone transmissions. Men who made frequent calls had only 36 per cent of fast-swimming sperm, compared with 51 per cent in men who made no calls.
Team leader Dr Imre Fejes said in his report to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference: 'The prolonged use of cell phones may have a negative effect on spermatogenesis and male fertility that presumably deteriorates both in concentration and motility.'