Mobile telephones do not increase risk of brain tumours

Much to the relief of millions of users, according to a new Danish study using a mobile telephone does not appear to increase the risk of brain tumours.

Physician Christoffer Johansen of the Danish Cancer Society and a team of researchers interviewed a group of Danes about their mobile telephone habits. One group of 427 people were diagnosed with brain tumours, while 822 in another group were not.

The researchers asked the participants how often they used their mobile phones, the duration of their phone calls and how long they had owned their handsets. The researchers said the results for both groups was fairly accurate and not a major source for faulty information.

The answers from a random group of 74 respondents were checked against records from telephone operators and the results indicated that people although good at remembering how many phone calls they made, found it harder to assess how long they spoke for.

Johansen says that the study indicates clearly that the use of mobile telephones does not increase the risk of developing brain tumours.

They also found that there was no connection between mobile telephone use and the location of the tumours among those who were diagnosed with tumours. Tumours on the left side of the head were no more common among those who held their handsets to their left ear or vice versa.

The findings agree with many other reviews of possible risks linked to electromagnetic radiation from mobile telephones, but the Danish researchers do point out that mobile telephones are a relatively new phenomena and possible health effects may not as yet become apparent.

Dr Johansen recommends children, youths and adults use hands-free equipment.

The study will be published in the next issue of the medical journal Neurology.