Mobile phones affect multiple sperm quality traits: a meta-analysis [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/ny]

• Main Authors: Madhukar Shivajirao Dama, M Narayana Bhat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: F1000 Research Ltd 2013-02-01
• Series: F1000Research
• Subjects: Global Health; Male Infertility; Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
• Online Access: http://f1000research.com/articles/2-40/v1

As mobile phone usage is growing rapidly, there is a need for a comprehensive analysis of the literature to inform scientific debates about the adverse effects of mobile phone radiation on sperm quality traits. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of the eligible published research studies on human males of reproductive age. Eleven studies were eligible for this analysis. Based on the meta-analysis, mobile phone use was significantly associated with deterioration in semen quality (Hedges’s g = -0.547; 95% CI: -0.713, -0.382; p < 0.001). The traits particularly affected adversely were sperm concentration, sperm morphology, sperm motility, proportion of non-progressive motile sperm (%), proportion of slow progressive motile sperm (%), and sperm viability. Direct exposure of spermatozoa to mobile phone radiation with in vitro study designs also significantly deteriorated the sperm quality (Hedges’s g = -2.233; 95% CI: -2.758, -1.708; p < 0.001), by reducing straight line velocity, fast progressive motility, Hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test score, major axis (µm), minor axis (µm), total sperm motility, perimeter (µm), area (µm2), average path velocity, curvilinear velocity, motile spermatozoa, and  acrosome reacted spermatozoa (%). The strength of evidence for the different outcomes varied from very low to very high. The analysis shows that mobile phone use is possibly associated with a number of deleterious effects on the spermatozoa.