2004-11-2
This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Health Report.
A Swedish study suggests that people who use cellular phones for
at least ten years might be at greater risk for developing a rare,
non-cancerous tumor. These tumors are called acoustic neuromas. They
grow on the nerve that leads from the inner ear to the brain. The
risk was higher on the side of the head where the phone was usually
held.
Acoustic neuromas affect fewer than one in one hundred thousand
people a year. They grow slowly and can take several years to be
discovered. The tumor pushes on the surface of the brain, but does
not grow into the brain itself.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden led
the study. It was published in the International Journal of
Epidemiology.
The study involved seven hundred fifty Swedes. About one hundred
fifty of them had acoustic neuromas. About six hundred other people
did not. Researchers asked all of the people about their cell phone
use.
The researchers found that those people who had used cell phones
for at least ten years had almost two times the risk of developing
acoustic neuromas. In addition, the tumor risk was almost four times
higher on the side of the head where the phone was usually held.
There was no increased risk for those who had used cell phones
for fewer than ten years. At the time the study was done, only
analog phones had been in use for ten years.
Almost all early analog cell phones released more electromagnetic
radiation than the digital phones now being sold. But researchers
say they cannot be sure if the results are just linked to the use of
analog phones. They say further study is needed.
Several earlier experiments have shown radiation from cellular
phones can affect brain cells in a laboratory. But studies on people
have found no evidence that the phones present a health risk.
However, experts say children should avoid using the phones for long
periods because their brains are still developing.
The study is part of a wider research program known as the
Interphone study. The World Health Organization's cancer research
institute organized the research. It is trying to find out if
electromagnetic radiation from cell phones damages health.
Final results of the study are expected to be released early next
year.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia
Kirk. This is Gwen Outen.