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Mobile phone use, school electromagnetic field levels and related symptoms: a cross-sectional survey among 2150 high school students in Izmir.

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Durusoy R, Hassoy H, Özkurt A, Karababa AO. · 2017

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Heavy mobile phone use nearly doubled headache risk and increased fatigue by 78% among 2,150 teenagers in dose-dependent patterns.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Turkish researchers surveyed 2,150 high school students about their mobile phone use and measured electromagnetic field levels in their schools. Students who used mobile phones were 90% more likely to experience headaches, 78% more likely to report fatigue, and 53% more likely to have sleep problems compared to non-users. The study found clear dose-response relationships, meaning heavier phone use correlated with more frequent symptoms.

Why This Matters

This large-scale study adds important evidence to the growing body of research linking mobile phone use to health symptoms in young people. What makes this research particularly compelling is the clear dose-response relationship the researchers documented. The more students used their phones - whether measured by call duration, number of texts, or keeping phones near their bodies at night - the more likely they were to report symptoms. The science demonstrates that these aren't random associations but follow predictable patterns that suggest causation. The reality is that these Turkish teenagers are experiencing the same symptoms reported by young people worldwide who use mobile devices regularly. What this means for you is that the evidence continues to mount that EMF exposure from everyday devices affects how we feel and function, especially among developing adolescents whose brains and bodies are still forming.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

Our objectives were to describe the mobile phone usage characteristics of high school students and to explore the association between mobile phone usage characteristics, high school EMF levels and self-reported symptoms.

This cross-sectional study's data were collected by a survey questionnaire and by measuring school E...

Among participants, 2021 (94.0%) were using mobile phones and 129 (6.0%) were not. Among users, 49.4...

We found an association between mobile phone use and especially headache, concentration difficulties, fatigue, sleep disturbances and warming of the ear showing also dose-response. We have found limited associations between vicinity to base stations and some general symptoms; however, we did not find any association with school EMF levels. Decreasing the numbers of calls and messages, decreasing the duration of calls, using earphones, keeping the phone away from the head and body and similar precautions might decrease the frequencies or prevalence of the symptoms.

Cite This Study
Durusoy R, Hassoy H, Özkurt A, Karababa AO. (2017). Mobile phone use, school electromagnetic field levels and related symptoms: a cross-sectional survey among 2150 high school students in Izmir. Environ Health. 16(1):51, 2017.
Show BibTeX
@article{r_2017_mobile_phone_use_school_2046,
  author = {Durusoy R and Hassoy H and Özkurt A and Karababa AO.},
  title = {Mobile phone use, school electromagnetic field levels and related symptoms: a cross-sectional survey among 2150 high school students in Izmir.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28577556/},
}
PubMed: 28577556

Cited By (61 papers)

View all 61 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2017 study of 2,150 Turkish high school students found mobile phone users were 90% more likely to experience headaches compared to non-users. The research showed clear dose-response relationships, meaning heavier phone use correlated with more frequent headaches.
Research on Turkish high school students found that mobile phone users were 53% more likely to have sleep disturbances. Students sending 75 or more text messages daily showed stronger dose-response relationships for sleep problems and other symptoms.
The Turkish student study identified making calls while charging as a specific risk factor. This practice showed dose-response relationships with headaches, concentration difficulties, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and local symptoms like ear warming.
Yes, the 2017 study of Turkish high school students found mobile phone users were 78% more likely to report fatigue compared to non-users. The research demonstrated clear dose-response relationships between phone use intensity and fatigue symptoms.
The Turkish high school study found that phone position and status at night showed dose-response relationships with multiple symptoms including headaches, concentration difficulties, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Keeping phones away from the head reduced symptom frequency.