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Mobile phone use and health symptoms in children.

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Chiu CT, Chang YH, Chen CC, Ko MC, Li CY. · 2014

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Children using mobile phones showed 42% higher headache rates and 84% higher skin problems in this 2,000-child study.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers surveyed over 2,000 Taiwanese children aged 11-15 to examine whether mobile phone use was linked to health symptoms. They found that children who used mobile phones had 42% higher odds of experiencing headaches and migraines, and 84% higher odds of skin itching compared to non-users. Parents also reported that regular phone users had worse overall health compared to the previous year.

Why This Matters

This large-scale study from Taiwan adds important evidence to concerns about children's mobile phone exposure, particularly because it examined real-world usage patterns rather than laboratory conditions. The 42% increase in headaches and 84% increase in skin problems among phone users represents substantial health impacts that parents should take seriously. What makes this research particularly relevant is that it studied children during the early smartphone era (2009), when exposure levels were likely lower than what today's children experience with more powerful devices and constant connectivity. The researchers' conclusion that children need 'more cautious use' of mobile phones reflects the reality that developing bodies may be more vulnerable to radiofrequency radiation, and today's children will experience decades more cumulative exposure than any generation in human history.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

To investigate the mobile phone (MP) use for talking in relation to health symptoms among 2042 children aged 11-15 years in Taiwan.

A nationwide, cross-sectional study, using the computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) techniqu...

The overall prevalence of MP use in the past month was estimated at 63.2% [95% confidence interval (...

Although the cross-sectional design precludes the causal inference for the observed association, our study tended to suggest a need for more cautious use of MPs in children, because children are expected to experience a longer lifetime exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from MPs.

Cite This Study
Chiu CT, Chang YH, Chen CC, Ko MC, Li CY. (2014). Mobile phone use and health symptoms in children. J Formos Med Assoc. 2014 Aug 9. pii: S0929-6646(14)00207-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2014.07.002.
Show BibTeX
@article{ct_2014_mobile_phone_use_and_1981,
  author = {Chiu CT and Chang YH and Chen CC and Ko MC and Li CY.},
  title = {Mobile phone use and health symptoms in children.},
  year = {2014},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25115529/},
}
PubMed: 25115529

Cited By (53 papers)

View all 53 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, research suggests cell phones may cause headaches in children. A 2014 study of over 2,000 Taiwanese children found that mobile phone users had 42% higher odds of experiencing headaches and migraines compared to non-users.
A study of Taiwanese children found that mobile phone users had 84% higher odds of experiencing skin itching compared to non-users. This suggests a potential link between phone use and skin irritation in children.
Research indicates potential health concerns. A 2014 study found that children who regularly used mobile phones were considered to have worse overall health status compared to the previous year by their parents.
Studies show children who use mobile phones may experience increased headaches, migraines, and skin itching. One study found 42% higher headache odds and 84% higher skin irritation odds among young phone users.
Phone use appears linked to increased health symptoms in children. Research shows mobile phone users experience significantly more headaches, migraines, and skin itching compared to children who don't use phones regularly.