Mobile phone radiation as a risk factor for brain tumors

Increased brain tumor risk from cell phones and cordless phones

12/11/2014

The dispute over possible health impairments caused by mobile phones began around the same time as the introduction of the first mobile phones. Since then, numerous studies have dealt with the topic, but the results have been highly contradictory. While some studies have found significant impairment of organic tissue, others have concluded that "no negative effects from cell phone radiation are to be expected".

Now the Swedish researchers Lennart Hardell, Michael Carlberg and Kjell Hansson Mild of the Oncological Institute at the University Hospital Örebro have in the journal „Pathophysiology Journal“ published a study that concluded that mobile phone use is also associated with an increased risk of so-called gliomas (malignant brain tumors). This applies in a similar way to cordless phones. The scientists are responsible for this "the high-frequency electromagnetic radiation of the equipment". Especially children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable.

Threefold higher brain tumor risk
In their study, the researchers analyzed possible connections between mobile phone use or the use of cordless phones and the occurrence of malignant brain tumors. They evaluated data from a total of 1,498 brain tumor patients and 3,530 healthy volunteers from two previous studies to determine the impact of cell phone radiation on brain tumor risk. The Swedish researchers conclude that both the use of mobile phones and the use of cordless phones are associated with an increased risk of gliomas. Each year of use leads to a further increase in disease risk. Those who have been using a cell phone for more than 25 years are at three times the risk level, the researchers report. According to Hardell, Carlberg and Hansson, when used for 15 to 20 years, the risk was still about twice as high as in the average population.

Children and adolescents particularly at risk
Not only the duration of mobile phone use, but also the age at first use, according to the scientists had an impact on the brain tumor risk. Particularly vulnerable subjects were those who were already telephoning at a young age with cordless phones and mobile phones. The risk of disease was significantly higher when using the devices for the first time under the age of 20 years than when using them at a later age. According to the researchers, children should preferably not make phone calls with their cell phones or cordless phones, as the radiation penetrates significantly deeper into their skull than in adults. In addition, her brain is still in development and is therefore particularly vulnerable to harmful influences.

Further studies also indicate an increased risk of cancer
The results of the Swedish study are water on the mills of mobile radio critics, especially since they complement previous studies, which came to similar fatal results. For example, the news magazine reports „Focus“ from a study by the Israeli medical doctor Yaniv Hamzany at the University of Tel Aviv, which showed last year that cell phone radiation also has effects on the parotid gland. In the cells of the saliva of Vieltelefonierern far more peroxides and free radicals were detectable compared to Handyverweigerern. In addition, a study by epidemiologists of the University of Oxford in the UK in 2013 showed that frequent callers an accumulation of tumors on the auditory nerve, the reports „Focus“. Participating women aged 50 and over had a 2.5-fold increase in the risk of developing an acoustic neuroma if the subjects had been mobile for more than ten years.

No countermeasures expected
With the current study, the concern over the radiation of cell phones and cordless phones are growing again, but consequences are not expected this time. Too often, health institutions, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), have warned in the past about the possible carcinogenic effects of mobile phone radiation without deriving recommendations for countermeasures. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) assesses, according to the announcement of the „Focus“ Although a causal relationship between electromagnetic fields and cancers is still possible, it has not yet been clearly documented. Here, the future will probably bring enlightenment. (Fp)