A significant research study of more than 420,000 mobile phone users published in the U.K.’s Journal of the National Cancer Institute has found no link between the use of mobile telephones and cancer in mobile phone users.
For years researchers have probed the possibility that radiation and electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile telephones might lead to a greater incidence of cancer or other disorders, particularly along heavy mobile phone users, since that radiation penetrates the ears and brains of mobile users. Small-scale studies offered contradictory information, some finding no link between certain type of cancer and other disorders and the use of mobile phones, while other studies found potential correlations.
However, researchers from the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen combed through health data from people who had been using mobile phones as far back as 1982, including more than 56,000 people who had been using mobile phones for more than 10 years. The results? The researchers found no evidence suggesting use of mobile phones is connected to a higher-than-normal incidence of tumors in the brain, eyes, or salivary glands, nor did they find any increased risk of leukemia. A total of 14,249 cancer cases were found amongst mobile phone users in the study, which is actually a number lower than would be expected, given the size of the study.
As part of the study, researchers used data from phone company records, which helped eliminate reporting errors and biases in asking people to recall whether—or how much—they were using mobile phones as much as ten years ago. Still, the study is not without its limitations in differentiating between heavy, moderate, and light mobile phone users, meaning it cannot rule out the possibility of some sort of health risk to heavy phone users.
Health experts still advise limiting mobile phone use among children and young people, as their brains, nervous systems, and bodies are still developing.
