Background: Concerns regarding the possible impact of mobile phones on health have grown recently as the number of individuals using mobile phone devices has increased. Recently, experts have investigated the effects of cell phone use on male fertility. Other research indicates that Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) stimulate follicle growth and macrophages in the corpus luteum. This study aimed to assess whether prolonged exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation (RF-EMR) emitted by cell phones negatively affects male reproductive health by reducing semen quality parameters, including motility, morphology, and viability.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2024 to February 2025 in Erbil City, the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The study included 113men with normozoospermia, aged between 25 and 40 years, who were divided into four groups based on their daily mobile phone usage: no exposure(none), low exposure (less than 2 hours), medium exposure (2 to 4 hours), and high exposure (more than 4 hours). Semen analyses were performed following the criteria established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Results: There were notable differences (P<0.001) in sperm motility, morphology, and count among the exposure groups. Specifically, sperm motility decreased from 62.5% in non-users to 45.3% among those with high exposure, and sperm concentration fell from 58.2 million/ml to 42.5 million/ml. Morphological normal forms slightly declined from 5.6% to 5.0%.
Conclusion: There is a negative correlation between semen quality and the duration of mobile phone usage.