CMike
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- Oct 25, 2009
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The study does say it's complicated. What do you all think?
Int'l study cautions cellphone users
The researchers found a 40-percent higher prevalence of gliomas and meningiomas (two types of brain cancer) among adults who used cellphones for an average of 30 minutes a day for 10 years, but could not state whether there was a link even though the malignancies were more often located on the side of the head where people held their cellphones. By way of comparison, the risk of lung cancer (and many other diseases) is 1,000% higher among smokers than non-smokers.
Sidetzky, director of the cancer and radiation epidemiology unit at Gertner, said in a briefing for health reporters there that the Interphone study sets off red lights. She has been working on the possible effects cellphones since 1998.
The study did not produce results that are black and white. One cannot summarize them in a sentence; it is very complicated, said the epidemiologist, who conceded later that she used a cellphone and would continue to use one while taking precautions to keep it as far away from her head and body as possible.
Radiation epidemiologist Prof. Elisabeth Cardis of Barcelona led a team of 21 researchers in 18 centers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Over 5,000 people who had been diagnosed with gliomas and meningiomas were interviewed about their cellphone use and compared with a control group that had no brain tumors. It was not known from the outset how many people used cellphones and to what extent.
There were individual publications of results, but this is the first time that the results of all the groups were summarized together, said Sidetzky, noting that when data had been gathered as long ago as 2004 (and since analyzed), what was then considered heavy use is now considered minimal use. This is true especially in Israel, where cellphone use is very high and many children have their own phones. The results were to have been published five years ago, but were not because of disagreements on methodology and other matters.
Sidetzky said she had joined a new research effort funded by the European Union called MobiKids, in which children and teenagers diagnosed with malignant brain tumors would be studied for the next five years regarding their cellphone use, compared to that of a control group.
The researchers concluded that when cellphones are used 30 minutes or more a day for a decade, there is an elevated risk of brain tumors; the more they are used, the higher the risk. But the research was problematic, Sidetzky admitted, as between 30% and 60% of cancer patients declined to participate. Israeli patients were less likely to participate than others, although the reason could not be explained.
Surprisingly, among the cancer patients, cellphone use was actually connected with a lower risk of cancer, which Sidetzky attributed to problems in the study, such as measurements, as it was impossible that using a cellphone could actually protect people against brain cancer. Presumably, there are underestimates of the real risk.
Int'l study cautions cellphone users
The researchers found a 40-percent higher prevalence of gliomas and meningiomas (two types of brain cancer) among adults who used cellphones for an average of 30 minutes a day for 10 years, but could not state whether there was a link even though the malignancies were more often located on the side of the head where people held their cellphones. By way of comparison, the risk of lung cancer (and many other diseases) is 1,000% higher among smokers than non-smokers.
Sidetzky, director of the cancer and radiation epidemiology unit at Gertner, said in a briefing for health reporters there that the Interphone study sets off red lights. She has been working on the possible effects cellphones since 1998.
The study did not produce results that are black and white. One cannot summarize them in a sentence; it is very complicated, said the epidemiologist, who conceded later that she used a cellphone and would continue to use one while taking precautions to keep it as far away from her head and body as possible.
Radiation epidemiologist Prof. Elisabeth Cardis of Barcelona led a team of 21 researchers in 18 centers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Over 5,000 people who had been diagnosed with gliomas and meningiomas were interviewed about their cellphone use and compared with a control group that had no brain tumors. It was not known from the outset how many people used cellphones and to what extent.
There were individual publications of results, but this is the first time that the results of all the groups were summarized together, said Sidetzky, noting that when data had been gathered as long ago as 2004 (and since analyzed), what was then considered heavy use is now considered minimal use. This is true especially in Israel, where cellphone use is very high and many children have their own phones. The results were to have been published five years ago, but were not because of disagreements on methodology and other matters.
Sidetzky said she had joined a new research effort funded by the European Union called MobiKids, in which children and teenagers diagnosed with malignant brain tumors would be studied for the next five years regarding their cellphone use, compared to that of a control group.
The researchers concluded that when cellphones are used 30 minutes or more a day for a decade, there is an elevated risk of brain tumors; the more they are used, the higher the risk. But the research was problematic, Sidetzky admitted, as between 30% and 60% of cancer patients declined to participate. Israeli patients were less likely to participate than others, although the reason could not be explained.
Surprisingly, among the cancer patients, cellphone use was actually connected with a lower risk of cancer, which Sidetzky attributed to problems in the study, such as measurements, as it was impossible that using a cellphone could actually protect people against brain cancer. Presumably, there are underestimates of the real risk.
