Associations of mobile phone use with male semen quality and sex hormones

Tian SHI; Min ZHANG; Chong LIU; Yanling DENG; Panpan CHEN; Yu MIAO; Jiayue ZENG; Tingting LU; Xiaoying LIU; Yang WU; Chengru LI; Qiang ZENG

doi:10.11836/JEOM22329

环境与职业医学 (Feb 2023)

Associations of mobile phone use with male semen quality and sex hormones

Tian SHI,
Min ZHANG,
Chong LIU,
Yanling DENG,
Panpan CHEN,
Yu MIAO,
Jiayue ZENG,
Tingting LU,
Xiaoying LIU,
Yang WU,
Chengru LI,
Qiang ZENG

Affiliations

Tian SHI: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Min ZHANG: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Chong LIU: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Yanling DENG: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Panpan CHEN: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Yu MIAO: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Jiayue ZENG: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Tingting LU: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Xiaoying LIU: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Yang WU: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Chengru LI: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Qiang ZENG: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health/Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11836/JEOM22329
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 40, no. 2
pp. 163 – 170

Abstract

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BackgroundExperimental studies have shown that radiofrequency electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones can cause adverse effects on male reproductive health, including decreased semen quality and altered sex hormones. However, the results of epidemiological studies on the relationship between mobile phone use and male semen quality are inconsistent. Furthermore, there are few epidemiological studies on the association of mobile phone use with sex hormones.ObjectiveTo explore the associations of mobile phone use with male semen quality and sex hormones.MethodsA total of 2045 men visited the reproductive medicine center of a hospital in Wuhan and ordered infertility examination were recruited from December 2018 to January 2020. Information on mobile phone use was obtained using a questionnaire. Among them, 1232 and 1694 men were eligible for semen quality analyses and sex hormone analyses, respectively. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations of mobile phone use with male semen quality and sex hormones.ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounders, there was no statistically significant associations of mobile phone use with sperm progressive motility, sperm total motility, sperm concentration, sperm count, or serum luteinizing hormone (P>0.05). However, serum total testosterone showed a declined tendency with increasing daily duration of mobile phone use (Ptrend=0.08). Compared with men with daily mobile phone use of 0-2 h, men with daily mobile phone use of 2.1-5, 5.1-8, and >8 h showed decreased serum total testosterone concentrations by 6.29% (95%CI: 0.40%-11.84%), 6.01% (95%CI: 0.60%-12.19%), and 7.87% (95%CI: 0.40%-14.79%), respectively.ConclusionMobile phone use is not associated with male semen quality and serum luteinizing hormone, but increasing daily duration of mobile phone use is potentially associated with a tendency to lower male serum total testosterone.

Published in 环境与职业医学

ISSN: 2095-9982 (Print)
Publisher: Editorial Committee of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine
Country of publisher: China
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General); Medicine: Public aspects of medicine: Toxicology. Poisons
Website: https://www.jeom.org/indexen.htm

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