Authored by:
Deltour et al.
Summary:
Mobile phone use in the Nordic countries has rapidly increased since the mid-1990s. This study investigated whether the increased use of mobile phones has also increased the incidence rate of brain tumours in men aged between 40 and 69 years. Males were chosen because, on average, they used mobile phones more in the study period. The study used data collected from national cancer registries on the incidence rate of glioma in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden between 1979 and 2016. Mobile phone exposure data was collected from other major studies, published in this time period, that reported mobile phone use. There were 18,322 male glioma cases identified for analysis. The analysis found no changes to the underlying incidence trend indicating that there is no increased risk of glioma at a population-level related to increasing mobile phone use. The authors conclude that the study is further evidence that there are no changes in glioma incidence in Nordic countries that is attributable to mobile phone use.
Link to:
Time trends in mobile phone use and glioma incidence among males in the Nordic Countries, 1979–2016
Published In:
Environment International
Commentary by ARAPNSA:
The results of this study are consistent with other major studies including the UK Million Women Study and the Mobi-kids study, as well as research conducted by ARPANSA (Karipidis et al.) which found no association between mobile phone use and the risk of brain cancer. This study adds further evidence that there are no substantiated adverse health effects from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic energy from mobile phones and other wireless devices at levels below the limits set in the ARPANSA Safety Standard (RPS S-1). It is the assessment of ARPANSA and other health authorities, including the World Health Organization, that there is no substantiated scientific evidence that mobile phones cause any adverse health effect. For more information, please see the ARPANSA Mobile Phones and Health information page.
