An online publication of a long term look at studies of cellular use and it’s possible correlation to brain cancer was published recently. There is apparently increasing evidence that long term use of cell phones pressed against the ear may be statistically significant. While only one data point, I have had a couple of friends who died of brain tumors and were long term heavy cell phone users. On the other hand, I have used cell phones heavily since their introduction and have not yet encountered any cancer. But here’s some suggestions from the authors of the study.
Use texts, a phone’s speaker, or wired headphones. Keeping a smartphone 10 inches (25cm) from your body instead of one-tenth of an inch reduces your radiation exposure to 1/10,000th as much as when it’s pressed against your head. When moving about, store your phone in a bag or purse. If you must carry a phone in your pocket, temporarily turn on airplane mode, which disables the transceiver and sends your incoming calls to voicemail.
Cellular Phone Use and Risk of Tumors: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
ABSTRACT
According to estimates from the International Telecommunication Union, the number of worldwide mobile cellular subscriptions increased from 68.0 per 100 inhabitants in 2009 to 108.0 per 100 inhabitants in 2019 [1]. With the increasing use of cellular phones, concerns have arisen over the carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted from cellular phones [2]. Since 1999, observational epidemiologic studies, specifically case-control studies have reported inconsistent findings on the association between cellular phone use and tumor risk, and several meta-analyses [3,4,5,6] of case-control studies on this topic have been published before 2011.
Among these studies, Myung et al.’s meta-analysis [5] of 23 case-control studies concluded that mobile phone use was associated with an increased tumor risk in high quality studies and studies conducted by a specific research group, and that long-term mobile phone use of 10 or more years increased the risk of tumors regardless of methodological quality or research group. Similarly, Khurana et al. also reported that cellular phone use of 10 or more years doubled the risk of brain tumors in 11 epidemiologic studies [6].
Based on evaluation of the available literature including experimental animal studies and epidemiological studies in humans, in 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) associated with cellular phone use as possibly carcinogenic to humans [7]. Recently, an advisory group of 29 scientists recommended that IARC prioritize a new review of the carcinogenicity of RF-EMF by 2024 due to mechanistic evidence of the carcinogenicity of cell phone radiation published since 2011 [8].
Although many case-control studies and several meta-analyses have been published regarding the association between cellular phone use and tumor risk, the findings remain inconsistent.
Conclusions
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between cellular phone use and tumor risk using a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies according to various factors including differences in response rates between cases and controls, use of blinding at interview for ascertainment of exposure, methodological quality, funding sources, type of case-control study, malignancy of tumor, and dose–response relationship.
In sum, the updated comprehensive meta-analysis of case-control studies found significant evidence linking cellular phone use to increased tumor risk, especially among cell phone users with cumulative cell phone use of 1000 or more hours in their lifetime (which corresponds to about 17 min per day over 10 years), and especially among studies that employed high quality methods. Further quality prospective studies providing higher level of evidence than case-control studies are warranted to confirm our findings. (emphasis by Olyopen.com)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/8079/htm#B7-ijerph-17-08079
A more “consumer friendly” wrap up of this can be found at AskWoody.com, a tech magazine.
Filed under: Environmental Protection, Environmental Science |
