Keep your mobile phone in your pocket? It could cause erectile dysfunction

A new study has linked mobile phones to erectile dysfunction (ED), with scientists claiming that people who carry their phones for more than 4.4 hours a day could be at risk.

Researchers working in Austria and Egypt said they had identified a possible link between carrying a switched-on mobile phone and ED.

A pilot study looked at 20 men who had complained of ED for six months or more and another group of 10 healthy men with no history of ED. The groups were similar in terms of age, weight, height and general health.

According to the report, the men suffering from ED carried their switched-on phone for an average of 4.4 hours a day, compared with just 1.8 hours for those with no erectile problems. The report is published in the Central European Journal of Urology.

“This prospective pilot study showed that there may be a relation between cell phone usage and ED, which is indicated by the following results of this study: men with ED use their cell phones longer than men without ED [and] men who have ED carry their switched on cell phones significantly longer than men who do not have ED,” the report explains.

The researches have called for “further large-scale studies” to be carried out to confirm their initial findings.

The report concludes that there could be a relation between mobile phone usage and ED, but that more data was needed.

In 2011 a report by a World Health Organisation committee classified radiation emitted by mobile phones as grade 2b carcinogenic, which could be harmful to humans.