Article publication date:
November 2022.
Authored by:
Chu et al.
Summary:
This in-vitro experimental study examined the effects radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) from mobile phones on sperm. The study examined sperm quality from 18 men aged 25-35. Sperm were exposed to RF EMF for 6 hours from mobile phones using the mobile phone network (e.g., 4G or 5G) or Wi-Fi. The authors reported that RF EMF exposure from mobile phone on the 4G or 5G networks had no impact on sperm quality when compared to controls. However, they did report that sperm exposure to mobile phones connected to Wi-Fi did reduce sperm quality.
Link to:
Published in:
European Urology Focus
Commentary by ARPANSA:
This study by Chu et al has various methodological limitations that are also present in previous in-vitro studies of sperm quality (Zalata et al 2015 and Kim et al 2021). One of the main limitations is the lack of objective assessment of RF-EMF exposure (dosimetry) in this study. The RF EMF exposure in this study is not characterised and hence it is not clear what level of RF EMF the sperm were exposed to. The lack of dosimetry also makes it difficult to discern whether any reported effects are due to the RF EMF exposure or other factors such as heat from the device’s battery. The authors do state that heat emanating from devices may have contributed to the reported effects, but this is understating the role of heating from devices as it would be a far greater heat source than any RF EMF exposure from Wi-Fi or a mobile phone network. The authors also failed to control for exposure to environmental RF EMF sources, such as radio, TV, and mobile phone base station emissions.
Previous studies have examined the link between RF EMF exposure and sperm quality. Some In-vitro studies report reduced sperm quality in relation to RF EMF exposure (Yu et al 2021 and Adams et al 2014). In contrast, human studies that have evaluated the impact of RF EMF on sperm quality (often based on mobile phone usage) show no consistent impact of RF EMF exposure on sperm quality (Liu et al 2014 and Kim et al 2021).This may indicate that in real world scenarios RF EMF exposure from mobile phones is unlikely to have an impact on fertility.
The World Health Organisation has funded a systematic review on the effects RF EMF on male fertility (Pacchierotti et al, 2021). This systematic review is currently being undertaken, and the results are likely to be published in 2023. It will produce valuable information on the impact of RF EMF on sperm quality and/or fertility.
The ARPANSA radiofrequency exposure standard RPS S-1 sets limits that protect against all known health effects of RF EMF exposure, including impacts on fertility. The limits are set many times below the level where any health effects occur. There is no substantiated evidence that RF EMF exposure at levels below the safety limits will have any impact on fertility.
