Meta-analysis of long-term mobile phone use and the association with brain tumours.
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Söderqvist F, Hansson Mild K. · 2008
View Original AbstractTen-year mobile phone users show doubled brain tumor risk on the same side of the head where they hold their device.
Plain English Summary
Researchers analyzed data from multiple studies examining whether long-term mobile phone use increases brain tumor risk. They found that when people used phones for 10 years or longer on the same side of their head where tumors developed, the risk of glioma (a type of brain cancer) doubled and acoustic neuroma (a benign tumor) risk increased by 140%. However, using phones on the opposite side of the head showed no increased risk.
Why This Matters
This meta-analysis reveals a troubling pattern that the wireless industry has long disputed: the side of the head where people hold their phones matters for cancer risk. The science demonstrates that radiation exposure creates localized biological effects, not systemic ones. What makes this research particularly significant is the dose-response relationship it reveals - longer use periods and same-side exposure both increase risk in a predictable pattern. The reality is that most people hold their phones consistently on one side, creating exactly the exposure pattern this study links to doubled cancer risk. You don't have to wait for perfect certainty to take precautionary steps like using speaker phone or wired headsets.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Meta-analysis of long-term mobile phone use and the association with brain tumours.
We evaluated long-term use of mobile phones and the risk for brain tumours in case-control studies p...
We identified ten studies on glioma and meta-analysis yielded OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.8-1.1. Latency pe...
We conclude that this meta-analysis gave a consistent pattern of an association between mobile phone use and ipsilateral glioma and acoustic neuroma using > or =10-years latency period.
Show BibTeX
@article{l_2008_metaanalysis_of_longterm_mobile_2173,
author = {Hardell L and Carlberg M and Söderqvist F and Hansson Mild K.},
title = {Meta-analysis of long-term mobile phone use and the association with brain tumours.},
year = {2008},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18425337/},
}