Fact Check: Can Keeping a Laptop on Your Lap Cause Male Infertility?

Fact Check: Mostly True.

What is male infertility?
The World Health Organization ( WHO) has defined Male infertility as a man's inability to cause pregnancy in a fertile female. It is typically diagnosed after a couple has been unable to conceive after one year of regular, unprotected intercourse. Male infertility can result from deficiencies in sperm production, function, or delivery. (1)

What are the causes of male infertility?

Male infertility can be caused by a variety of factors that affect sperm production, sperm function, or sperm delivery. Here are some of the common causes:

1. Varicocele: A swelling of the veins that drain the testicle, which is the most common reversible cause of male infertility. It can decrease sperm quality.
2. Infections: Infections such as epididymitis, orchitis, and some sexually transmitted infections including gonorrhea or HIV can impair sperm production or sperm health.
3. Ejaculation Issues: Problems such as retrograde ejaculation occur when semen enters the bladder during orgasm instead of emerging out the tip of the penis.
4. Antibodies that Attack Sperm: Anti-sperm antibodies are immune system cells that mistakenly identify sperm as harmful invaders and attempt to eliminate them.
5. Hormone Imbalances: Disorders of the testicles or an abnormality affecting other hormonal systems including the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands could impair sperm production.
6. Defects of Tubules that Transport Sperm: Many different tubes carry sperm. They can be blocked due to various causes, including inadvertent injury from surgery, prior infections, trauma, or abnormal development.
7. Chromosome Defects: Genetic disorders such as Klinefelter's syndrome — in which a male is born with two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome (instead of one X and one Y) — can cause abnormal development of the male reproductive organs.
8. Celiac Disease: A digestive disorder caused by sensitivity to gluten can cause male infertility. Fertility may improve after adopting a gluten-free diet.
9. Certain Medications: Testosterone replacement therapy, long-term anabolic steroid use, cancer medications (chemotherapy), certain antifungal and antibiotic medications, and some other drugs can impair sperm production and decrease male fertility.
10. Lifestyle and Environmental Factors: Overexposure to certain environmental elements such as heat, toxins, and chemicals can reduce sperm production or sperm function. Excessive alcohol intake, smoking, and the use of illegal drugs can also reduce sperm quality. Additionally, obesity can impair fertility in several ways, including directly impacting sperm themselves and by causing hormone changes.
11. Prior Surgeries: Certain surgeries such as vasectomy, inguinal hernia repairs, scrotal or testicular surgeries, prostate surgeries, and large abdominal surgeries performed for testicular and rectal cancers, among others, can prevent you from having sperm in your ejaculate.

Can using laptop on lap cause male infertility?

The scrotum maintains the testes at a temperature approximately 2-3 degrees Celsius lower than the body's core temperature. This cooler environment is crucial for normal spermatogenesis (sperm production).

A study published in Fertility and Sterility (2004) demonstrated that using a laptop on the lap can significantly increase scrotal temperature. The study found that scrotal temperatures rose by up to 2.8 degrees Celsius when a laptop was placed on the lap, which could potentially impair sperm production and quality. (2)
In their study, Mortazavi et al. emphasized that using laptops on the lap can significantly increase scrotal temperature, which negatively affects sperm quality and can lead to male infertility. This is supported by studies, such as one by Sheynkin et al. which demonstrated that prolonged laptop use on the lap causes significant scrotal temperature elevation. (3)

The article by S.A.R. Mortazavi et. al. also notes that in addition to heat, electromagnetic fields generated by laptops, including Wi-Fi radiation, can further degrade sperm quality. Therefore, men frequently using laptops on their laps are at risk of reduced sperm quality primarily due to the increased scrotal temperature. (4)

Another study by Ashok Agarwal et. al. found that using a laptop on the lap can potentially cause male infertility by increasing scrotal temperature, which negatively impacts sperm quality. The resulting heat can lead to defective maturation and increased DNA fragmentation in sperm cells, contributing to sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) and affecting fertility. SDF is linked to reduced sperm production and compromised genetic integrity, impacting both natural and assisted reproduction. (5)

What do the experts say?

The Medical Dialogues Fact Check Team spoke with Dr Manisha Singh, Senior Consultant - Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Bangalore she explained, “Experimental studies have shown that electromagnetic eaves emitted from cell phones and laptops can compromise the sperm production and characteristic in men. Although hardcore and conclusive evidence is lacking. The testes in a man are placed in the scrotum which has a one degree less temperature than the rest of the body. So, prolonged sitting and use of the laptop that can potentially heat up that area can potentially compromise the sperm production and also the sperm characteristics. This in the long run may affect male fertility. As far as miscarriage is concerned, if sperm characteristics are altered, the resulting embryo may be faulty, increasing the risk of miscarriage. Miscarriage can happen to anyone and cannot be solely attributed to laptop use.

Dr. Chirag Bhandari, Director at Bhandari Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur added,” In my opinion, the claim is right. The logic behind it is that the heat from the laptop can damage the testicles, leading to reduced sperm production and causing male infertility. The testes are located outside the body, making them 2 degrees cooler than the body, which is necessary for their optimal functioning. An increase in temperature can occur from sitting cross-legged for a long time with a laptop or from excessive use of steam or saunas. This temperature rise can affect sperm production and lead to male infertility. The best way to avoid this is to limit using a laptop on your lap, using a table for the laptop, or placing a pillow in between to decrease heat production. Therefore, the claim is correct.”

What lifestyle changes can improve male fertility?

Dr Manisha Singh further explains," The most important thing is that you should not have prolonged hours of sitting. If you do a desk job you should get up every hour and walk around for 5-10 minutes. Wear loose clothes- avoid wearing tight jeans and underwear. Men must avoid saunas, jacuzzi and hot baths that can basically heat up the scrotum and their by the testes. Men should not keep mobile phones in trouser pockets and laptop should be kept on the desk rather than the lap. Vitamin C rich diet is recommended. Avoid taking excessive protein and steroid supplements. Women need to cut down screen time on the laptop or mobiles as it increases the strain on the eyes which leads to an increase in stress level, anxiety increases and all of this has a negative impact on the woman as well as her pregnancy. Therefore, by cutting down screen time, switching off wifi by 10." 

Medical Dialogues Final Take:

Scientific evidence and medical consensus suggest that the heat from laptops, when used directly on the lap, can increase scrotal temperatures, potentially impairing sperm production and quality. Studies like those by Mortazavi et al. and Sheynkin et al. have demonstrated significant rises in scrotal temperature associated with prolonged laptop use on the lap, which can negatively affect sperm health and overall male fertility. Additionally, electromagnetic fields emitted from laptops might further contribute to sperm quality degradation.

Hence, the claim is MOSTLY TRUE.

Reference:
1. World Health Organization. (2023). Infertility. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infertility

2. Mortazavi, S. A., Taeb, S., Mortazavi, S. M., Zarei, S., Haghani, M., Habibzadeh, P., & Shojaei-Fard, M. B. (2016). The Fundamental Reasons Why Laptop Computers should not be Used on Your Lap. Journal of biomedical physics & engineering, 6(4), 279–284.

3. Sheynkin, Y., Jung, M., Yoo, P., Schulsinger, D., & Komaroff, E. (2005). Increase in scrotal temperature in laptop computer users. Human reproduction (Oxford, England), 20(2), 452–455. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deh616

4. Mortazavi, S. A., Taeb, S., Mortazavi, S. M., Zarei, S., Haghani, M., Habibzadeh, P., & Shojaei-Fard, M. B. (2016). The Fundamental Reasons Why Laptop Computers should not be Used on Your Lap. Journal of biomedical physics & engineering, 6(4), 279–284.

5. Agarwal, A., Majzoub, A., Baskaran, S., Panner Selvam, M. K., Cho, C. L., Henkel, R., Finelli, R., Leisegang, K., Sengupta, P., Barbarosie, C., Parekh, N., Alves, M. G., Ko, E., Arafa, M., Tadros, N., Ramasamy, R., Kavoussi, P., Ambar, R., Kuchakulla, M., Robert, K. A., … Shah, R. (2020). Sperm DNA Fragmentation: A New Guideline for Clinicians. The world journal of men's health, 38(4), 412–471. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.200128