Brain tumor risk in relation to mobile telephone use
http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/ije/press_releases/freepdf/dyq079.pdf
The objective of the Interphone study was to determine if cell phone use increased the risk of tumor growth, specifically if RF energy is tumoregenic, and focused on four types of tumors; tumors of the brain; glioma and meningioma, acoustic nerve; schwannoma and parotid gland.
The study took place in 13 countries and involved 16 study centers. There were 2708 glioma and 2409 meningioma cases and matched controls. The majority of subjects in the study were not heavy mobile users with median lifetime cumulative usage about 75 hrs to 100 hrs.
Although the odds ratio was higher for heavy users in meningioma and glioma; temporal lobe tumors, the results of the study were deemed inconclusive as many factors were hard to determine; such as call volume and length, exact numbers were unavailable and were approximated based on user recall. The study also truncated call usage that was reported to be greater than five hours per day in usage, and more than 1640 cumulative hours of usage (4.5 hours per day for 1 year, 2.25 hrs for 2 years, and 1.5 hrs per day for 3 years).
Accessing Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Adults’ access health services in a variety of ways, primary health providers; either acute care emergency rooms or family doctor, are usually chosen when there is an immediate need. People access health information at these locations or health fairs, pubic health units, or through advertising methods. However in the past ten years there has been an increase of 146% of people researching information online (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) in North America, approximately 266,224,500 people out of a population of approximately 344,124,450, or 77% of the population.
We chose to utilize two methods of providing health information, a website and brochure. While providing basic information the brochure would prompt individuals to access the website for further information.
Providing reliable health information online and utilizing standard means (health unit, advertising) of informing them where they can access it allows the consumer the flexibility to access information even when more historical methods are unavailable.
Accessing
information online is cost effective for distributors of information, the same
information provided to one user is available for all users at the original
cost, and changes to information are done only once and need not be recalled or
updated individually but happen in a global fashion.
Cell phone radiation can be harmful to human health. Users need to be informed of the risk from over exposures and protective measures. Neurological studies provide evidence of headaches, lack of concentration, memory loss and sleeping disorders. The studies have prompted World Health Organization (WHO) to announce results of a decade long study regarding cell phone usage; the study, known as Interphone, includes data from 12 different countries and provides evidence that after 10 years of use, there is an 18% increase of brain tumours on the side of the head where the cell phone is used the most often. Phone call should be controlled and restricted to a maximum of six minutes, which is the amount of time the body needs to adjust. Cell phones should not be carried on the body even on stand-by. A British study found that cell phones may harm sperm quality in a different way; storage of cell phones close to the testes had a significant negative impact on the sperm concentration and percentage of motile sperm. Men should avoid carrying their mobile device in pockets or on belt clips to prevent/minimize exposures to electromagnetic radiation.
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