Cell phone radiation has been linked to a series of health problems in recent years, from increased risk of brain tumors to sleep delays, and most recently, to infertility problems in men. According to a study conducted by researchers at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic, radio-frequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones may be linked to decreased sperm quality.

After conducting a series of lab tests, the team of scientists found cell phone radiation to be responsible for higher levels of free radicals in sperm cells and lower amounts of oxidants in the seminal fluid. This should raise a lot of concern among men who use hands-free devices while storing their cell phones in their pockets in talk mode.

This study follows another study, published last year in Fertility and Sterility and signed by Ashok Agarwal, Head of the Andrology Laboratory and Director of Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, who reported similar findings after analyzing data from 361 subjects.

Agarwal reported at the time that men using their cell phones more than four hours a day had lower sperm quality than men using their cell phones for a shorter period of time. The new study comes to complete that report, adding new evidence that links cell phone use to decreased fertility in men.

“We wanted to identify why cell phone use and decreased sperm quality appear to be related,” Agarwal said. “We never imagined that we’d identify a causal link so clearly in our initial study design, so we’re happy that this research has provided clean data to fuel future research and discussion in this area.”

After taking samples from 9 patients and 23 healthy donors, scientists separated the subjects into two groups, a test group and a control group, and then placed the specimens from the test group 2.5 cm from a 850 MHz cell phone in talk mode for one hour, basically re-creating the way men store their cell phones while using hands-free devices.

The conclusion should give men a lot to think about: cell phone radiation had a negative impact on the test group samples, compared to the control group. The scientists found that the oxidative stress in sperm cells caused by cell phone radiation decreased their ability to function at normal parameters, although they found no significant differences in the amount of DNA damage between the test and the control group.

This is just the beginning, as scientists are more determined than ever to create the full picture of how cell phone radiation influences infertility rates in men. “Since many people are now using hands-free sets with their cell phones for various health and safety reasons, it’s important that we continue studying this topic to gain a better understanding of the true impact these devices are having on every part of the body,” Dr. Edmund Sabanegh, Director of the Center for Male Fertility for the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute explained.