Use of wireless telephones and self-reported health symptoms: a population-based study among Swedish adolescents aged 15-19 years.
Soderqvist F, Carlberg M, Hardell L. · 2008
View Original AbstractRegular teen wireless phone users report significantly more headaches, sleep problems, and concentration difficulties than occasional users.
Plain English Summary
Swedish researchers surveyed 2,000 teenagers about their wireless phone use and health symptoms. They found that regular users of mobile and cordless phones reported more health problems including tiredness, headaches, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and sleep disturbances compared to less frequent users. Nearly all teens (99.6%) had access to mobile phones, with girls using them more frequently than boys.
Why This Matters
This study provides important early evidence of health symptoms associated with wireless phone use among the demographic that uses these devices most intensively. What makes this research particularly significant is its focus on adolescents, whose developing brains may be more vulnerable to EMF exposure. The reality is that the symptoms reported - headaches, concentration problems, sleep disturbances, and anxiety - align closely with what researchers have documented in other EMF sensitivity studies. While the authors appropriately note the exploratory nature of their findings, the consistency of symptoms across regular users suggests a pattern worth serious attention. The science demonstrates that young people's brains absorb significantly more radiation than adults due to their thinner skulls and developing nervous systems, making these findings especially concerning for parents and policymakers.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
Despite the last years of rapid increase in use of wireless phones little data on the use of these devices has been systematically assessed among young persons. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to assess use of wireless phones and to study such use in relation to explanatory factors and self-reported health symptoms.
A postal questionnaire comprising 8 pages of 27 questions with 75 items in total was sent to 2000 Sw...
The questionnaire was answered by 63.5% of the study subjects. Most participants reported access to ...
Almost all adolescence in this study used a wireless phone, girls more than boys. The most frequent use was seen among the older adolescents, and those who watched TV extensively. The study further showed that perceived health and certain health symptoms seemed to be related to the use of wireless phones. However, this part of the investigation was explorative and should therefore be interpreted with caution since bias and chance findings due to multiple testing might have influenced the results. Potentially this study will stimulate more sophisticated studies that may also investigate directions of associations and whether, or to what degree, any mediation factors are involved.
Show BibTeX
@article{f_2008_use_of_wireless_telephones_2606,
author = {Soderqvist F and Carlberg M and Hardell L.},
title = {Use of wireless telephones and self-reported health symptoms: a population-based study among Swedish adolescents aged 15-19 years.},
year = {2008},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18495003/},
}