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Long-term or heavy use of mobile phones does not increase the risk of developing one type of brain tumor, although exclusive long-term use on one side of the head appears to increase the risk slightly.
The case-control study examined mobile phone use among 1,521 glioma patients and 3,301 controls in Denmark, England, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Mobile phones emit radio waves that some believe play a role in tumor development, although a carcinogenic link has not been established, wrote Anna Lahkola of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki (Int. J. Cancer 2007 Jan. 17 [Epub doi:10.1002/ijc.22503]).
Researchers conducted interviews with all study participants to identify patterns of mobile phone use among glioma patients and controls. Of the cases, 58% said they had used a mobile phone regularly—at least once weekly for at least 6 months—in the year before diagnosis. A total of 59% of controls reported regular use. Regular mobile phone users had a lower risk of developing gliomas, compared with those who never or seldom used mobile phones (odds ratio 0.78).
Mobile customers who used the phone only on the same side of the head as the location of their tumor had a significantly increased risk of glioma if they started using the phone at least 10 years ago (OR 1.39).
Even among heavy and long-term users, the researchers found no link. “The most exposed group (the highest 10% based on the exposure distribution among controls) did not show an elevated risk of glioma,” they wrote. “Neither did the dose-response analyses reveal a clear trend in relation to the overall duration of mobile phone use, number of calls, or hours of use.” The authors acknowledge that “selection bias may have produced an apparent protective effect of mobile phone use.”
Long-term or heavy use of mobile phones does not increase the risk of developing one type of brain tumor, although exclusive long-term use on one side of the head appears to increase the risk slightly.
The case-control study examined mobile phone use among 1,521 glioma patients and 3,301 controls in Denmark, England, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Mobile phones emit radio waves that some believe play a role in tumor development, although a carcinogenic link has not been established, wrote Anna Lahkola of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki (Int. J. Cancer 2007 Jan. 17 [Epub doi:10.1002/ijc.22503]).
Researchers conducted interviews with all study participants to identify patterns of mobile phone use among glioma patients and controls. Of the cases, 58% said they had used a mobile phone regularly—at least once weekly for at least 6 months—in the year before diagnosis. A total of 59% of controls reported regular use. Regular mobile phone users had a lower risk of developing gliomas, compared with those who never or seldom used mobile phones (odds ratio 0.78).
Mobile customers who used the phone only on the same side of the head as the location of their tumor had a significantly increased risk of glioma if they started using the phone at least 10 years ago (OR 1.39).
Even among heavy and long-term users, the researchers found no link. “The most exposed group (the highest 10% based on the exposure distribution among controls) did not show an elevated risk of glioma,” they wrote. “Neither did the dose-response analyses reveal a clear trend in relation to the overall duration of mobile phone use, number of calls, or hours of use.” The authors acknowledge that “selection bias may have produced an apparent protective effect of mobile phone use.”
Long-term or heavy use of mobile phones does not increase the risk of developing one type of brain tumor, although exclusive long-term use on one side of the head appears to increase the risk slightly.
The case-control study examined mobile phone use among 1,521 glioma patients and 3,301 controls in Denmark, England, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Mobile phones emit radio waves that some believe play a role in tumor development, although a carcinogenic link has not been established, wrote Anna Lahkola of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki (Int. J. Cancer 2007 Jan. 17 [Epub doi:10.1002/ijc.22503]).
Researchers conducted interviews with all study participants to identify patterns of mobile phone use among glioma patients and controls. Of the cases, 58% said they had used a mobile phone regularly—at least once weekly for at least 6 months—in the year before diagnosis. A total of 59% of controls reported regular use. Regular mobile phone users had a lower risk of developing gliomas, compared with those who never or seldom used mobile phones (odds ratio 0.78).
Mobile customers who used the phone only on the same side of the head as the location of their tumor had a significantly increased risk of glioma if they started using the phone at least 10 years ago (OR 1.39).
Even among heavy and long-term users, the researchers found no link. “The most exposed group (the highest 10% based on the exposure distribution among controls) did not show an elevated risk of glioma,” they wrote. “Neither did the dose-response analyses reveal a clear trend in relation to the overall duration of mobile phone use, number of calls, or hours of use.” The authors acknowledge that “selection bias may have produced an apparent protective effect of mobile phone use.”