Wireless phone use in childhood and adolescence and neuroepithelial brain tumours: Results from the international MOBI-Kids study

• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.107069
• Publication Date: 2021-12-30T05:23:50Z
• Authors: G. Castaño-Vinyals; S. Sadetzki; R. Vermeulen; F. Momoli; M. Kundi; F. Merletti; M. Maslanyj; C. Calderon; J. Wiart; A.-K. Lee; M. Taki; M. Sim; B. Armstrong; G. Benke; R. Schattner; H.-P. Hutter; D. Krewski; C. Mohipp; P. Ritvo; J. Spinelli; B. Lacour; T. Remen; K. Radon; T. Weinmann; E.Th. Petridou; M. Moschovi; A. Pourtsidis; K. Oikonomou; P. Kanavidis; E. Bouka; R. Dikshit; R. Nagrani; A. Chetrit; R. Bruchim; M. Maule; E. Migliore; G. Filippini; L. Miligi; S. Mattioli; N. Kojimahara; N. Yamaguchi; M. Ha; K. Choi; H. Kromhout; G. Goedhart; A. 't Mannetje; A. Eng; C.E. Langer; J. Alguacil; N. Aragonés; M. Morales-Suárez...; F. Badia; A. Albert; G. Carretero; E. Cardis
• Keywords: Mobile phone

In recent decades, the possibility that use of mobile communicating devices, particularly wireless (mobile and cordless) phones, may increase brain tumour risk, has been a concern, given considerable in their by young people. MOBI-Kids, 14-country (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain) case-control study, was conducted to evaluate whether phone (and resulting exposure radiofrequency (RF) extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF)) increases risk tumours Between 2010 2015, study recruited 899 people with aged 10 24 years old 1,910 controls (operated for appendicitis) matched cases on date diagnosis, region age. Participation rates were 72% 54% controls. The mean ages 16.5 16.6 years, respectively; 57% males. vast majority participants phones users, even youngest age group, included substantial numbers long-term (over years) users: 22% overall, 51% 20-24-year-olds. Most neuroepithelial type (NBT; n = 671), mainly glioma. odds ratios (OR) NBT appeared decrease increasing time since start cumulative number calls call time, 15-19 group. A decreasing trend ORs also observed estimated RF specific energy ELF induced current density at location tumour. Further analyses suggest large below 1 this is unlikely represent an unknown causal preventive effect exposure: they can be least partially explained differential recall proxies prodromal symptoms affecting before diagnosis cases. We cannot rule out, however, residual confounding from sources we did not measure. Overall, our provides no evidence association between However, bias summarised above prevent us ruling out small increased risk.