Studies find Cell Phone Radiation during Pregnancy linked to various side effects

Cell Phone Radiation During Pregnancy Linked to Behavioral Disorders of Offspring

New research finds that pregnant women who are exposed to cell phone radiation may in turn be exposing their offspring to behavioral disorders. And you thought the cell phone debates were over. Thus far concrete cell phone research has been elusive. We’ve heard that cell phone radiation causes cancer and may pose other deadly side effects for kids, only to have other research proclaim that health effects of too much cell phone radiation is unknown. This new research lands squarely in the cell phones are unsafe camp. Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that pregnant mice exposed to cell phone radiation later have babies with affected behaviors, including increased hyperactive and anxiety along with poorer memory, all of which are similar to symptoms seen in kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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The new research published in the March 15 issue of Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, involved exposing pregnant mice to radiation from a muted and silenced cell phone positioned above their cage. A second control group of pregnant mice were kept in much the same conditions, only with a deactivated cell phone. Later on, the research team measured the brain electrical activity of adult mice born from both groups of mice and found that the mice born to mothers exposed to cell phone radiation as fetuses tended to be more hyperactive and had reduced memory capacity. Senior author Dr. Hugh S. Taylor, professor and chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences attributed the behavioral changes on the development of neurons in the prefrontal cortex region of the brain that may be linked to cell phones. Taylor notes, “This is the first experimental evidence that fetal exposure to radiofrequency radiation from cellular telephones does in fact affect adult behavior… The rise in behavioral disorders in human children may be in part due to fetal cellular telephone irradiation exposure.” Researchers also note that rodent pregnancies last just 19 days and mice offspring are born with a less-developed brain than human babies. Further research is needed to determine if human mothers exposed to the same amounts of radiation result in the same detrimental behavioral problems in human babies. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of the cell phone safety debate. Until researchers come up with concrete solutions, you may want to play it safe by using phone cases that reduce radiation and avoid unnecessary sources of radiation.


+ Scientific Reports 2, Article number: 312 doi:10.1038/srep00312
+ Source: Yale News

NEW STUDY: Cell Phones Stimulate the Brain, but Health Effects for Kids Unknown

Image © prima vera via SXC

The debate on whether or not cell phones cause cancer and whether or not cell phones are safe for kids, or adults for that matter, continues. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that talking on a cell phone increases brain activity near the antenna. While the health effects of these changes are unknown, this study conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health is one of the first and largest studies to show that weak electromagnetic radiation, like the radiation from your cell phone, could alter brain activity. Study researchers conducted PET scans on participants as they held phones up to their ear for 50 minutes at a time. Those who had a phone that was turned on, had a 7 percent increase in their brain activity. So what does this mean for the growing number of kids who own cell phones or play games on iPhones?

Image © eyeliam

According to recent stats, 22 percent of young kids ages 6 to 9 now own a cell phone. And when they get older, it gets worse — 60 percent of tweens 10 to 14 years old and 84 percent of 15 to 18 year olds have their own cell phone. These numbers don’t even look at the large number of younger children, toddlers and even infants who are allowed to play with mom and dad’s cell phones. Are they at risk?
While the study led by neurologist Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, examined 47 adults, not children, it’s important to remember that kids’ developing tissues are more sensitive to radiation and their young age means they have many more years for the health risks to build up.
It’s unclear if “exposure to these external sources, two to three hours a day for five to 10 years [is going to result] in any untoward effects,” Volkow said. “And if you get exposed very early on when the brain is very plastic, would there be any detrimental effects? That’s an important question that needs to be addressed.”
Many young kids and toddlers are more involved with playing games or using kid-friendly apps on cell phones rather than holding the phones up to their ears to talk however. And the PET scans in this study did show that brain activity decreased in relation to the distance from the phone’s antenna.

Image © Stephanie Rosger

The Bottom Line

More studies must be done on cell phones and radiation to get clear answers on their safety. While scientists can’t say for sure that cell phones do — or don’t — cause cancer, or whether or not this stimulation of brain activity is unsafe — you never know what researchers will uncover in 10, 20, or 30 years down the road.
While some parents love the educational and entertaining aspects of cell phones for kids, others worry that we’re allowing our kids to be guinea pigs. We previously reported on a book by Dr. Derva Davis, Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family, in which she states that some studies have linked cell phone radiation to potentially deadly side effects including damaged DNA, reduced sperm count and memory loss. And the Environmental Working Group released an extensive evaluation of the hazards of cell phones as well.
So are cell phones safe for kids? Until solid evidence from further studies is found, you be the judge.

Swiss Study Finds Cell Phone Usage Not Linked to Brain Tumors in Kids

by Lori Zimmer, 07/28/11

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The World Health Organization’s recent study linked cell phones to cancer, but researchers in Switzerland and Scandinavia aren’t so sure. Recent studies on children who use cell phones found the opposite – determining that the relationship between cell phone usage and brain tumors is inconclusive. With more and more parents letting their children have their own cell phones should they be concerned about the radiowaves effects on kid’s brains or not?

©TL Paradis

The Swiss study focused on regular users of cell phones, ranging in ages from 7 to 19. Researchers interviewed 352 children and teens who had been diagnosed with brain tumors from 2004-2008, as well as 646 kids in a control group, and all of the parents involved. The interviews concluded that just over half of the entire group were regular cell phone users, meaning that the brain tumors were present with or without cell phone usage. The same goes for the healthy children, there was no difference shown between the kids who regularly used cell phones and those who didn’t.

Dr. Martin Roosli, PhD and his colleagues at the Swiss Tropical and Public Heath Institute in Basel also examined the patients’ brains. They concluded that the cerebellum, temporal and frontal lobes, the areas of the brain that are in direct exposure to a cell phone’s radiofrequency energy, had no increased risk in regular cell phone users. The same goes for the side of the brain that corresponds with the ear most used when making calls.

With cell phones’ commonality being a somewhat new phenomenon over the last ten years or so, Roosli and his researchers plan to further study their long term effects on adult and child brains. Future studies may uncover new risks, but for the time being,  these researchers aren’t linking cell phone usage directly to brain tumors.

That being said, as a parent, you may want to practice a “better safe than sorry” policy on your child’s cell phone usage. With inconclusive results, more studies are clearly needed to determine what’s truly safe for our kids.