In 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) described the use of mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic, as they believed it could increase the risk of developing some types of brain tumors. However, a macro-study carried out by the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) has not found these effects, so it gives a reassuring message.
Many people think that the radiofrequency waves emitted by these electronic devices are absorbed by the body’s tissues, causing them to heat up and damage them. Something that is worrying, especially since we usually place it close to the head to make calls, with the temporal and parietal lobes being the closest. In addition, this fear has grown with the arrival of fifth generation mobile technologies or 5G.
However, the research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, has revealed that this may not be the case, and that there would be no increased risk of brain tumors from normal mobile use, although it does warn that they have no evidence of the effects that abuse would have on the handling of this device.
There was no difference in risk between those who used the mobile and those who did not.
The study analyzed the use of the mobile phone for 14 years of 776,156 women born in the United Kingdom between 1935 and 1950, and was related to the cases of various types of brain tumors, such as glioma (tumor of the nervous system), meningioma (tumor of the membrane that covers the brain), acoustic neuroma (tumor of the nerve that connects the inner ear and the brain), and tumors of the pituitary gland, in addition to eye tumors.
The authors advise reducing exposure to radiofrequency waves by using hands-free devices or by using the loudspeaker.
The results showed that 75% of the women between 60 and 64 years old used the mobile, and just under 50% of those between 75 and 79 years old, and during the 14 years of the study, 0.42% of the participants developed a brain tumor. It was also found that there was no notable difference between the risk of developing brain cancer between those who had never used a mobile phone and those who had.
There was also no greater probability of suffering from glioma, acoustic neuroma, pituitary tumors, meningioma or ocular tumors, in those women who used the mobile every day, in those who spoke at least 20 minutes a week and those who had been using this device for more than 10 years.
“These results support the accumulating evidence that regular mobile phone use does not increase the risk of brain tumors,” says study co-investigator Kirstin Pirie. However, and as explained above, the effects that it can cause if it is used more than these women used it are not known, since only 18% of those surveyed reported that they spoke 30 minutes or more each week.
The researchers recommend that if mobile phones are to be used for extended calls, their exposure to radio frequency waves should be reduced by using hands-free devices or using the speakerphone. In addition, they believe that more studies need to be done to determine the effects of these waves on children and adolescents.
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