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Cell phones are lowering men's chances of fatherhood, a new study suggests. Researchers found that men who store their cell phones in their pant pockets could be unintentionally lowering their fertility.

Lead researcher Dr. Fiona Mathews of Biosciences at the University of Exeter and her team did a systematic review of ten previous studies, which involved 1,492 samples.

Researchers said the sperm samples were collected from fertility clinics and research centers, and sperm quality was determined through three factors: motility (the ability of sperm to move properly towards an egg), viability (the proportion of sperm that were alive) and concentration (the number of sperm per unit of semen).

The latest study revealed that 50 percent to 85 percent of sperm samples in the control group have normal movement. However, only 8 percent of the samples from the cell phone exposure group had normal movement.

Researchers said that cell phone exposure also lowered sperm vitality. However, the study found no link between sperm concentration and cell phone exposure.

 "Given the enormous scale of mobile phone use around the world, the potential role of this environmental exposure needs to be clarified. This study strongly suggests that being exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation from carrying mobiles in trouser pockets negatively affects sperm quality. This could be particularly important for men already on the borderline of infertility, and further research is required to determine the full clinical implications for the general population," Mathews said in a news release.

The latest findings were published in the journal Environment International.