Does Electromagnetic Pollution in the ART Laboratory Affect Sperm Quality? A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)
2.2. Measuring Instruments
- Group 0—Control. Samples were stored under normal conditions, without exposure to EMF, at time 0 and time 60’ to ensure that any variations were solely due to exposure to electromagnetic fields.
- Group 1—Display (HP Monitor, HP Enterprise, Palo Alto, CA, USA). The samples were exposed to EMFs emitted by a 24-inch LCD monitor, placed at a distance of 10 cm from the semen samples for 1 h. The electric field power of the monitor was around 0.1 W.
- Group 2—Time-Lapse Incubator. The samples were exposed to EMFs from a time-lapse incubator (Incubator Geri®, Genea Biomedx, Kent Street, Sidney, Australia) (output power: 0.5 W) at a distance of 10 cm from the sperm samples for 1 h.
- Group 3—iPhone Cell Phone. The samples were exposed to radiation emitted by an Apple iPhone 12 mobile phone (output power: 0.1 W) (Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA, USA). The device was kept at a distance of 10 cm from the semen sample for 1 h.
- Group 4—Ubiquiti Wi-Fi Repeater. The samples were exposed to EMFs emitted by a Ubiquiti UniFi 6 long-range Wi-Fi repeater (Ubiquiti, 685 Third Avenue, New York, NY, USA), utilising 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi technology with an emission power of approximately 20 dBm (decibel milliwatts), which corresponds to approximately 100 mW (milliwatts). As in all other cases, the sample was placed at a distance of 10 cm for 1 h
- Group 5—Nikon Invertoscope Model Ti (Nikon Instruments, Tokyo, Japan). The samples were exposed to EMFs generated by an invertoscope (semen analysis microscope) with an output power of 0.15 W, placed 10 cm away from the semen samples for 1 h.
- Group 6—HP Pavillon TP 01 PC (HP Enterprise, Palo Alto, CA, USA). The samples were exposed to EMFs emitted by a laptop, as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices typically emit at very low powers (around 0.2 W), and placed at a distance of 10 cm from the semen samples for 1 h.
2.3. Evaluation of Sperm Motility
- Progressive motility: percentage of spermatozoa that move in a straight line (progressive);
- Non-progressive motility;
- Immotile.
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
4.1. Limitations of the Study
4.2. Implications and Future Directions
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Time 0’ | Time 60’ | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abst. day | Vol. ml. | ph | Nor. Morp. In% | Conc. Mil/mL | Total Mil. | PR% | NP% | IM% | PR% | NP% | IM% | |
average | 3.7 | 3.64 | 7.6 | 9.75% | 61.79 | 223.65 | 47.2% | 14.5% | 38.3% | 45.08% | 16.4% | 38.7% |
SD | 0.7 | 1.22 | 0.2 | 3.41% | 30.55 | 142.77 | 10.3 | 6.12 | 11.7 | 9.242 | 5.6 | 9.73 |
M_M | M_A | TL_M | TL_A | P_M | P_A | W_M | W_A | I_M | I_A | PC_M | PC_A | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I.M.F. mV | 1161 | 209.3 | 294.5 | 11.6 | 1610.6 | 295.0 | 4259.2 | 241.5 | 299.2 | 8.7 | 624.1 | 174.2 |
SD | 88.2 | 8.3 | 15.2 | 2.4 | 122.2 | 12.9 | 229.4 | 17.2 | 22.6 | 2.1 | 15.7 | 11.2 |
Group 1 Monitor | Group 2 Timelapse | Group 3 iPhone | Group 4 Wifi | Group 5 Invertoscope | Group 6 PC | Average of the Exposed Groups | Group 0 Control | Group 0 vs. Average Group 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 (Test t Student) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR | 44% | 44.7% | 25% | 25% | 45% | 45% | 38.11% | 45.1% | N.S. |
NP | 16.9% | 17% | 25.9% | 26% | 17% | 17% | 19.9% | 16% | N.S. |
IM | 38.9% | 39% | 49% | 49% | 38% | 38% | 41.9% | 39% | N.S. |
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Baldini, G.M.; Lot, D.; Ferri, D.; Montano, L.; Tartagni, M.V.; Malvasi, A.; Laganà, A.S.; Palumbo, M.; Baldini, D.; Trojano, G. Does Electromagnetic Pollution in the ART Laboratory Affect Sperm Quality? A Cross-Sectional Observational Study. Toxics 2025, 13, 510. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060510
Baldini GM, Lot D, Ferri D, Montano L, Tartagni MV, Malvasi A, Laganà AS, Palumbo M, Baldini D, Trojano G. Does Electromagnetic Pollution in the ART Laboratory Affect Sperm Quality? A Cross-Sectional Observational Study. Toxics. 2025; 13(6):510. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060510
Chicago/Turabian StyleBaldini, Giorgio Maria, Dario Lot, Daniele Ferri, Luigi Montano, Mario Valerio Tartagni, Antonio Malvasi, Antonio Simone Laganà, Mario Palumbo, Domenico Baldini, and Giuseppe Trojano. 2025. "Does Electromagnetic Pollution in the ART Laboratory Affect Sperm Quality? A Cross-Sectional Observational Study" Toxics 13, no. 6: 510. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060510
APA StyleBaldini, G. M., Lot, D., Ferri, D., Montano, L., Tartagni, M. V., Malvasi, A., Laganà, A. S., Palumbo, M., Baldini, D., & Trojano, G. (2025). Does Electromagnetic Pollution in the ART Laboratory Affect Sperm Quality? A Cross-Sectional Observational Study. Toxics, 13(6), 510. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060510