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Brain & Nervous System

Use of mobile and cordless phones and cognition in Australian primary school children: a prospective cohort study

No Effects Found

Redmayne M, Smith CL, Benke G, Croft RJ, Dalecki A, Dimitriadis C, Kaufman J, Macleod S, Sim MR, Wolfe R, Abramson MJ · 2016

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Low phone use (2-3 calls weekly) showed no cognitive effects in children, but doesn't reflect today's heavy smartphone usage patterns.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Australian researchers studied 619 primary school children (ages 8-11) to see if using mobile phones and cordless phones affected their thinking abilities and reaction times. The children used phones very little (about 2-3 calls per week), and the study found almost no differences in cognitive performance between phone users and non-users. Only 5 out of 78 different measurements showed any statistical differences, suggesting phone use at these low levels doesn't meaningfully impact children's brain function.

Study Details

This study focused on children’s exposures to MP and CP and cognitive development. The hypothesis was that children who used these phones would display differences in cognitive function compared to those who did not.

We recruited 619 fourth-grade students (8-11 years) from 37 schools around Melbourne and Wollongong,...

MP and CP use for calls was low; and only 5 of 78 comparisons of phone use with cognitive measures w...

Overall, there was little evidence cognitive function was associated with CP and MP use in this age group. Although there was some evidence that effects of MP and CP use on cognition may differ by gender, this needs further exploration. CP results may be more reliable as parents estimated children’s phone use and the CPs were at home; results for CP use were broadly consistent with our earlier study of older children.

Cite This Study
Redmayne M, Smith CL, Benke G, Croft RJ, Dalecki A, Dimitriadis C, Kaufman J, Macleod S, Sim MR, Wolfe R, Abramson MJ (2016). Use of mobile and cordless phones and cognition in Australian primary school children: a prospective cohort study Environ Health. 15(1):26, 2016.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2016_use_of_mobile_and_2799,
  author = {Redmayne M and Smith CL and Benke G and Croft RJ and Dalecki A and Dimitriadis C and Kaufman J and Macleod S and Sim MR and Wolfe R and Abramson MJ},
  title = {Use of mobile and cordless phones and cognition in Australian primary school children: a prospective cohort study},
  year = {2016},
  doi = {10.1186/s12940-016-0116-1},
  url = {https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0116-1},
}
DOI: 10.1186/s12940-016-0116-1

Cited By (23 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2016 Australian study of 619 primary school children found no meaningful impact on brain function from mobile phone use. Children who used phones showed virtually identical cognitive performance to non-users, with only 5 out of 78 measurements showing any differences.
Research on Australian children ages 8-11 found minimal evidence that cordless phones affect memory. While a few isolated measurements showed slight differences in memory tasks, the overall pattern showed no significant cognitive impairment from cordless phone use.
A comprehensive study tracking 619 Australian children found phone radiation at typical usage levels doesn't harm thinking skills. Children using mobile and cordless phones performed nearly identically to non-users on cognitive tests measuring reaction time and mental processing.
Australian researchers found mixed results on reaction time in children using cell phones. Heavy users showed slightly slower responses on one specific task, but overall cognitive performance remained largely unchanged compared to children who didn't use phones.
Current evidence suggests minimal cognitive risks for children from typical phone use. A major Australian study found children's brain function remained essentially normal regardless of phone usage, with only isolated differences that likely occurred by chance.