During the past year numerous epidemiological studies have increased the concern over cell phone use. Although some researchers suggest that it could be a number of years before we know the full extent of the problem. The early research was equivocal and the majority concluded that cell phones could be a concern but there was not enough evidence. The recent studies seem to be painting a more reliable picture with strong evidence of male sperm DNA damage and growing confirmation that cell phones contribute to ipsilateral brain tumors. Some researchers note that some of tumors are slow developing and for this reason it could be a decade or more before we know the full risks associated with cell phone use.
Chiropractors are in a unique position to confer with their patients on a repetitive basis and should consider providing information regarding cell phone use, especially prolonged use by the young. This should be considered as part of an overall wellness program.
The following abstracts are provided as a sample of the research this past year. Please note that copyright does not permit providing the full text of these articles and the abstract alone does not allow the physician a thorough understanding of the research.
Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data.Surg Neurol. 2009 Sep;72(3):205-14; discussion 214-5. Epub 2009 Mar 27
Khurana VG, Teo C, Kundi M, Hardell L, Carlberg M.
Australian National University, Australia. vgkhurana@gmail.com
BACKGROUND: The debate regarding the health effects of low-intensity electromagnetic radiation from sources such as power lines, base stations, and cell phones has recently been reignited. In the present review, the authors attempt to address the following question: is there epidemiologic evidence for an association between long-term cell phone usage and the risk of developing a brain tumor? Included with this
meta-analysis of the long-term epidemiologic data are a brief overview of cell phone technology and discussion of laboratory data, biological mechanisms, and brain tumor
incidence.
METHODS: In order to be included in the present meta-analysis, studies were required to have met all of the following criteria: (i) publication in a peer-reviewed journal; (ii) inclusion of participants using cell phones for > or = 10 years (ie, minimum 10-year "latency"); and (iii) incorporation of a "laterality" analysis of long-term users (ie, analysis of the side of the brain tumor relative to the side of the head preferred for cell phone usage). This is a meta-analysis incorporating all 11 long-term epidemiologic studies in this field.
RESULTS: The results indicate that using a cell phone for > or = 10 years approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same ("ipsilateral") side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use. The data achieve statistical significance for glioma and acoustic neuroma but not for meningioma.
CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that there is adequate epidemiologic evidence to suggest a link between prolonged cell phone usage and the development of an ipsilateral brain tumor.
Meta-analysis of long-term mobile phone use and the association with brain tumours.
Int J Oncol. 2008 May;32(5):1097-103
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Söderqvist F, Hansson Mild K.
Department of Oncology, University Hospital, SE-701 85 Orebro, Sweden. lennart.hardell@orebroll.se
We evaluated long-term use of mobile phones and the risk for brain tumours in case-control studies published so far on this issue. We identified ten studies on glioma and meta-analysis yielded OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.8-1.1. Latency period of > or =10-years gave OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.8-1.9 based on six studies, for ipsilateral use (same side as tumour) OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.4 (four studies), but contralateral use did not increase the risk significantly, OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.6-2.0. Meta-analysis of nine studies on acoustic neuroma gave OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.7-1.1 increasing to OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.6-2.8 using > or =10-years latency period (four studies). Ipsilateral use gave OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.1-5.3 and contra-lateral OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.7-2.2 in the > or =10-years latency period group (three studies). Seven studies gave results for meningioma yielding overall OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.7-0.99. Using > or =10-years latency period OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.9-1.8 was calculated (four studies) increasing to OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 0.99-3.1 for ipsilateral use and OR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.3-3.1 for contralateral use (two studies). We conclude that this meta-analysis gave a consistent pattern of an association between mobile phone use and ipsilateral glioma and acoustic neuroma using > or =10-years latency period.
Mobile phones and brain tumours: a review of epidemiological research.
Australas Phys Eng Sci Med. 2008 Dec;31(4):255-67.
Croft RJ, McKenzie RJ, Inyang I, Benke GP, Anderson V, Abramson MJ.
Australian Centre for Radiofrequency Bioeffects Research, Melbourne, Australia. rcroft@swin.edu.au
There has been a great deal of public concern regarding the possibility that the use of mobile phone-related technologies might result in adverse health effects. Corresponding to this, there has been substantial epidemiological research designed to determine whether the use of mobile phones (MP) has any effect on health, and in particular whether it increases the risk of developing head and neck tumours. Such literature is particularly heterogeneous, which makes it difficult to pool in a meta-analysis. This paper thus reviews the epidemiological literature pertaining to the use of mobile phones and mobile phone-related technologies, and head and neck tumours, in an attempt to consolidate the various reports. Although there have been individual reports of associations between MP-use and tumours, this research is not consistent and on balance does not provide evidence of an association. There are reports of small associations between MP-use ipsilateral to the tumour for greater than 10 years, for both acoustic neuroma and glioma, but the present paper argues that these are especially prone to confounding by recall bias. The reported associations are in need of replication with methods designed to minimise such bias before they can be treated as more than suggestive.
Mobile phone radiation induces reactive oxygen species production and DNA damage in human spermatozoa in vitro.
PLoS One. 2009 Jul 31;4(7):e6446.
De Iuliis GN, Newey RJ, King BV, Aitken RJ.
ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
BACKGROUND: In recent times there has been some controversy over the impact of electromagnetic radiation on human health. The significance of mobile phone radiation on male reproduction is a key element of this debate since several studies have suggested a relationship between mobile phone use and semen quality. The potential mechanisms involved have not been established, however, human spermatozoa are known to be particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress by virtue of the abundant availability of substrates for free radical attack and the lack of cytoplasmic space to accommodate antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, the induction of oxidative stress in these cells not only perturbs their capacity for fertilization but also contributes to sperm DNA damage. The latter has, in turn, been linked with poor fertility, an increased incidence of miscarriage and morbidity in the offspring, including childhood cancer. In light of these associations, we have analyzed the influence of RF-EMR on the cell biology of human spermatozoa in vitro.
PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Purified human spermatozoa were exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) tuned to 1.8 GHz and covering a range of specific absorption rates (SAR) from 0.4 W/kg to 27.5 W/kg. In step with increasing SAR, motility and vitality were significantly reduced after RF-EMR exposure, while the mitochondrial generation of reactive oxygen species and DNA fragmentation were significantly elevated (P<0.001). Furthermore, we also observed highly significant relationships between SAR, the oxidative DNA damage bio-marker, 8-OH-dG, and DNA fragmentation after RF-EMR exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: RF-EMR in both the power density and frequency range of mobile phones enhances mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation by human spermatozoa, decreasing the motility and vitality of these cells while stimulating DNA base adduct formation and, ultimately DNA fragmentation. These findings have clear implications for the safety of extensive mobile phone use by males of reproductive age, potentially affecting both their fertility and the health and wellbeing of their offspring.
Cell phones: modern man's nemesis?
Reprod Biomed Online. 2009 Jan;18(1):148-57.
Makker K, Varghese A, Desai NR, Mouradi R, Agarwal A.
Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Over the past decade, the use of mobile phones has increased significantly. However, with every technological development comes some element of health concern, and cell phones are no exception. Recently, various studies have highlighted the negative effects of cell phone exposure on human health, and concerns about possible hazards related to cell phone exposure have been growing. This is a comprehensive, up-to-the-minute overview of the effects of cell phone exposure on human health. The types of cell phones and cell phone technologies currently used in the world are discussed in an attempt to improve the understanding of the technical aspects, including the effect of cell phone exposure on the cardiovascular system, sleep and cognitive function, as well as localized and general adverse effects, genotoxicity potential, neurohormonal secretion and tumour induction. The proposed mechanisms by which cell phones adversely affect various aspects of human health, and male fertility in particular, are explained, and the emerging molecular techniques and approaches for elucidating the effects of mobile phone radiation on cellular physiology using high-throughput screening techniques, such as metabolomics and microarrays, are discussed. A novel study is described, which is looking at changes in semen parameters, oxidative stress markers and sperm DNA damage in semen samples exposed in vitro to cell phone radiation.