Ability to have babies in the long term means that those reaching
retirement should worry.
Natalia
Cellphone study a wake-up call for prospective dads
Beatrice Fantoni, Postmedia News
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011
OTTAWA - Men who want kids may want to switch off their cellphones or
let their partners do all the talking.
Results of a recent study led by a researcher at Queen's University in
Kingston, Ont., suggest the electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones
can lead to low sperm quality and decreased
"Our study is an eye-opener that electromagnetic waves may have an
effect on fertility," says Dr. Rany Shamloul, a researcher in sexual
medicine who led the study. "It's not a done deal, but it's a red flag
that more research needs to be done."
Shamloul and his colleagues found that cellphone use lowered levels of
the luteinizing hormone, an important male reproductive hormone secreted
in the brain.
"This may potentially have an effect on your ability to produce babies
in the long term," he says.
The study, published in the online version of the journal Andrologia,
followed 2,110 men attending an infertility clinic in Austria between
1993 and 2007. The researchers found a "significant difference" between
the sperm counts of men who used cellphones over the study period and
men who did not. "The initial sperm count decreased. Even the ability of
the sperm to move decreased over time," Shamloul says.
Electromagnetic waves can affect cells all over the body, he explains,
including reproductive cells, which are very sensitive to radiation.
However, the frequency at which the radiation becomes damaging is still
unknown.
Shamloul says followup studies testing for variables such as frequency,
type of cellphone, the amount of use or where the phone was kept on the
body are underway in Europe.
In the meantime, he says, people should be cautious when using cellphones.
"The evidence that cellphone radiation can damage sperm and DNA is
growing," says Devra Davis, a researcher in environmental health hazards
and founder of the organization Environmental Health Trust in the United
States. Current safety standards are not sufficient, she says.
For example, cellphone tests for radiation do not reflect how cellphones
are actually used. "Phones are never tested in the pocket of the shirt
or pants, which is where most people keep them," she says. "If they were
tested there, the phones on the market today would not meet the
requirements for radiation limits."
People often tend to talk on cellphones for more than six minutes at a
time, which is longer than the time frame used in testing, Davis adds.
According to Health Canada's website, the energy emitted by cellphones
is not strong enough to cause "serious health effects." Nonetheless, if
users are concerned about exposure to electromagnetic waves, the agency
suggests using hands-free devices and keeping calls short.
Shamloul says the government should not change its guidelines yet since
the evidence from this particular study is preliminary. "This is initial
data that should stimulate other researchers to do more," he says.
There are more than 20 million cellphone subscribers in the country.
Industry Canada reports that in 2006, households spent more on wireless
services than on conventional telephone services.
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