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Brain & Nervous System

Use of wireless telephones and serum S100B levels: A descriptive cross-sectional study among healthy Swedish adults aged 18–65 years

No Effects Found

Söderqvist F, Carlberg M, Hardell L · 2009

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This study found no link between wireless phone use and blood-brain barrier damage markers, but used limited testing methods.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers measured blood levels of S100B protein (a marker of blood-brain barrier damage) in 314 Swedish adults to see if wireless phone use affected brain barrier function. They found no significant association between mobile or cordless phone use and elevated S100B levels, suggesting these devices don't appear to damage the protective barrier around the brain based on this marker.

Study Details

Using serum S100B as a putative marker of BBB dysfunction we performed a descriptive cross-sectional study to investigate whether protein levels were higher among frequent than non-frequent users of mobile and cordless desktop phones.

One thousand subjects, 500 of each sex aged 18–65 years, were randomly recruited using the populatio...

The response rate was 31.4%. The results from logistic and linear regression analyses were statistic...

This study failed to show that long- or short-term use of wireless telephones was associated with elevated levels of serum S100B as a marker of BBB integrity. The finding regarding latency of UMTS use may be interesting but it is based on small numbers. Generally, S100B levels were low and to determine whether this association – if causal – is clinically relevant, larger studies with sufficient follow-up are needed.

Cite This Study
Söderqvist F, Carlberg M, Hardell L (2009). Use of wireless telephones and serum S100B levels: A descriptive cross-sectional study among healthy Swedish adults aged 18–65 years Sci Total Environ. 407(2):798-805, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{f_2009_use_of_wireless_telephones_2807,
  author = {Söderqvist F and Carlberg M and Hardell L},
  title = {Use of wireless telephones and serum S100B levels: A descriptive cross-sectional study among healthy Swedish adults aged 18–65 years},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969708010140},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2009 Swedish study of 314 adults found no significant association between mobile or cordless phone use and elevated S100B protein levels, a marker of blood-brain barrier damage. The research suggests wireless phones don't appear to compromise brain barrier integrity based on this biomarker.
Swedish researchers measured S100B protein in blood samples from 314 adults to assess potential brain barrier damage from wireless phone use. They found no significant correlation between phone usage patterns and elevated S100B levels, indicating this biomarker didn't detect brain damage.
The 2009 Swedish study found one notable result: UMTS (3G) phone usage showed a significant association with S100B levels in men only. However, researchers cautioned this finding was based on small numbers (31 men) and requires larger studies for confirmation.
Swedish researchers found a weak negative association between cordless phone use and S100B protein levels, with a borderline significant p-value of 0.052. This suggests cordless phones might actually correlate with slightly lower S100B levels, though the effect wasn't statistically significant.
The Swedish study found generally low S100B levels across all participants regardless of phone use patterns. Researchers concluded that larger studies with longer follow-up periods are needed to determine if S100B protein is a reliable biomarker for wireless phone brain effects.