Last week we looked at the various research over recent years showing the dangers of mobile phones, and their history over the past 30 years. Today we will continue looking at health issues, starting with male fertility.
Men frequently carry phones in their pockets or on their belts. They are, therefore, inches away from the genital area.
There have been over a dozen studies to date showing that this habit can be a danger to health. A review of the published evidence so far has revealed that mobile phones have a significant impact on sperm quality, with a consistent mean reduction of around nine per cent in sperm mobility and viability (Environ. Int.,2014).
The lead author of the study, Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter, said: “Carrying mobiles in trouser pockets negatively affects sperm quality. This could be particularly important for men already on the borderline of infertility.”
Further studies found evidence of cellular ageing and sperm DNA becoming damaged and fragmented when exposed to mobile phone radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR).
It has been suggested that RF-EMR can lead to free radicals and oxidative stress and trigger uncontrolled cell proliferation, thereby even promoting the development of brain and testicular cancers.
Moving on to neurological effects, there have been tests to try to determine whether mobile phone radiation affects brain waves while people are asleep.
Don’t make a call when network strength is showing just one bar, as your phone will emit higher radiation levels to compensate
In fact, ‘large effects on brain activity’ have been observed – but not in everyone. Nevertheless, if some people react but others don’t, this suggests that even negative findings are not evidence of a lack of effect. In addition, over 20 studies have looked at the effects of mobile radiation on the brain, with most showing some kind of effect, but interestingly, not always adverse effects.
While blood flow decreases in the parts of the brain closest to the mobile phone, it also increases in the more distant prefrontal cortex (J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab., 2008). This could explain why mental tasks involving attentional capacity and processing speed improved after exposure to mobile radiation, as these functions are linked by the prefrontal cortex.
However, a review of the evidence from 19 studies showed that mobile radiation, generally, has only a ‘small impact on human attention and working memory’.
Researchers in Rome recently carried out a double blind, placebo controlled study of the effects of mobile phone radiation in people with focal epilepsy using transcranial magnetic stimulations (TMS). After 45 minutes of exposure, there were significant increases in ‘cortical excitability’, which can increase the risk of seizures (Brain Stimul., 2013).
Here are some tips to using your mobile phone safely:
• Limit the use of mobile phones to essential calls and always keep calls short;
• Children should use mobile phones in an emergency only;
• Wear an air-tube handset, not a wired handset, as the latter can intensify radiation in the ear canal (air-tube handsets are available to buy from the internet and more information can be gained through web research);
• Don’t carry your mobile in your pocket or on your belt while it is switched on. Your lower body tissues absorb radiation more quickly than your head;
• Don’t carry your mobile phone in your bra;
• If you don’t have an air-tube handset, don’t immediately put the phone to your ear once you’ve made the call, wait a few seconds for the connection to be made and while the other phone is ringing;
• Don’t make a call when network strength is showing just one bar, as your phone will emit higher radiation levels to compensate;
• Purchase a phone with a low specific absorption rate (SAR);
• Text instead of talking wherever possible;
• Use a landline phone whenever possible (but not a cordless);
• Turn your mobile off as much as possible. Callers can leave a message and you could call them back on a landline.
There is massive disagreement between studies carried out that have been sponsored by the industry and others carried out by independent sources, with some industry studies concluding that mobiles actually protect against brain tumours. The history of environmental hazards shows that it takes about half a century for effects to be revealed as the causes of obvious chronic ill-health.
We have now had 30 years of mobile phone use, so we need another 20 years to be certain that we won’t be adding wireless communications technology to tobacco, lead petrol emissions, asbestos, hydrogenated fats and all the other hazards of 21st century living.
kathryn@maltanet.net