Mobile Phone Use May Be Associated with Greater Frequency of Headache

by | Nov 24, 2020 | 2019, Ear, Nose and Throat, EMF's, Headaches

Written by Angeline A. De Leon, Staff Writer. After adjusting for confounders, researchers found no association between the amount of mobile phone call time and tinnitus or hearing loss.

health hazards - cell phoneExposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has become commonplace in contemporary society. A number of studies have come out reporting on the adverse effects of RF-EMF exposure from mobile phone use on sleep quality, mental focus, and general wellbeing 1,2. The impact of mobile phone exposure on physical health is also cause for concern as emerging evidence suggests that RF-EMF may be linked to increased prevalence of headaches and other somatic symptoms, including hearing loss in children and adolescents 3,4. In one cohort study, for example, mobile phone users were found to exhibit higher rates of hospitalization due to migraine and/or vertigo 5. Other work, however, reports the absence of any significant association between mobile phone use and headaches, tinnitus, or other somatic complaints 6. These findings are convergent with another line of research that suggests that the physiological effects of RF-EMF exposure, as of yet, cannot be reliably verified due to lack of well-designed studies and double-blind exposures 7,8. To help shed light on the apparent discrepancies regarding the health effects of RF-EMF mobile phone exposure, an international cohort study 9 was conducted by Sweden and Finland to clarify the relationship between long-term mobile phone use and frequency of headaches and hearing symptoms such as tinnitus and hearing loss.

A total of 21,049 mobile phone users from Sweden and 3,120 from Finland were enrolled in the prospective cohort study. Mobile phone user data (duration of each call dialed and received over a period of approximately 3 months) were collected from operator databases at baseline, and questionnaires assessing previous history of mobile phone use and other phone use habits (use of hands-free devices, use of multiple mobile devices, etc.) were completed at baseline and at the time of follow-up. Questionnaires evaluating health outcomes (self-reported symptoms of headache, tinnitus, and hearing loss) were also administered at both time points.

At 4-year follow-up, results showed that after adjusting for age, gender, and other confounding variables, subjects in the top 10% of weekly call time at baseline (average call time > 276 minutes per week) reported slightly increased frequency of weekly headaches at follow-up (Odds Ratio = 1.13, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.95 to 1.34). However, there was not a strong trend with increasing call time (p = 0.06). In addition, no association was apparent between weekly call-time at baseline and tinnitus or hearing loss at 4-year follow-up. In an exploratory analysis of call time by network (Global System for Mobile Telecommunications vs. Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, GSM and UMTS, respectively), researchers found a stronger association for weekly headaches and call time on the UMTS network vs. GSM, despite the fact that GSM is associated with stronger RF-EMF emission, compared to UMTS 10.

Based on the current study, general findings regarding the role of RF-EMF mobile phone exposure on the occurrence of headache, tinnitus, and hearing loss remain largely unconvincing. Although a small increase in weekly headaches was reported among users in the highest decile of weekly call time, this finding was weak, was not associated with a clear trend, and appeared stronger for the call network associated with lower RF-EMF exposure levels. Moreover, no associations were found between call time and hearing loss or tinnitus. Thus, additional research clarifying the role of RF-EMF mobile phone exposure in the development of somatic symptoms like headache and hearing loss is warranted. While a key strength of the present study is its use of a large international cohort with reliable records of mobile phone use, several weaknesses should also be considered, including the lack of data on the intensity of RF-EMF, the use of self-report measures to assess health outcomes, and the failure to specify the frequencies of different types of headaches.

Source: Auvinen A, Feychting M, Ahlbom A, et al. Headache, tinnitus and hearing loss in the international Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health (COSMOS) in Sweden and Finland. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2019; 48(5): 1567-1579. DOI: 10.1993/ije/dyz127.

VC The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association. 1567This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/byncnd/4.0/)

Click here to read the full text study.

 Posted November 24, 2020.

Angeline A. De Leon, MA, graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010, completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a concentration in neuroscience. She received her master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2013, where she studied clinical neuroscience within an integrative health program. Her specialized area of research involves the complementary use of neuroimaging and neuropsychology-based methodologies to examine how lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and meditation, can influence brain plasticity and enhance overall connectivity.

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