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Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare Students' Mobile Phones: Impact of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Users' Demographics and Device Characteristics on Bacterial Load

2023 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 439

In a cross-sectional sample of 83 healthcare students' mobile phones, most samples were positive for HPC 37 °C, HPC 22 °C, and Staphylococci (98%). A statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.262, p < 0.02) was reported between European head SAR a…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2023
Study typecross_sectional
Reported directionHarm
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare Students' Mobile Phones: Impact of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Users' Demographics and Device Characteristics on Bacterial Load Maurici M, Pica F, D'Alò GL, Cicciarella Modica D, Distefano A, Gorjao M, Simonelli MS, Serafinelli L, De Filippis P. Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare Students' Mobile Phones: Impact of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Users' Demographics and Device Characteristics on Bacterial Load. Life (Basel). 2023 Jun 8;13(6):1349. doi: 10.3390/life13061349. Abstract We quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated the bacterial contamination of mobile phones (MPs) in relation to users' demographics, habits, and device characteristics by administering questionnaires to 83 healthcare university students and sampling their MPs by following a cross-sectional design. The heterotrophic plate count (HPC) at 22 °C (HPC 22 °C) and 37 °C (HPC 37 °C), Enterococci, Gram-negative bacteria, and Staphylococci were evaluated. Higher bacterial loads were detected for HPC 37 °C and Staphylococci (416 and 442 CFU/dm2, respectively), followed by HPC 22 °C, Enterococci, and Gram-negative bacteria; the vast majority of samples were positive for HPC 37 °C, HPC 22 °C, and Staphylococci (98%), while Enterococci (66%) and Gram-negative bacteria (17%) were detected less frequently. A statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.262, p < 0.02) was found between the European head specific absorption rate (SAR) and both HPC 37 °C and Staphylococci; Enterococci showed a strong, significant correlation with HPC 37 °C, HPC 22 °C, and Gram-negative bacteria (r = 0.633, 0.684, 0.884) and a moderate significant correlation with Staphylococci (r = 0.390). Significant differences were found between HPC 22 °C and the type of internship attendance, with higher loads for Medicine. Students with a daily internship attendance had higher HPC 22 °C levels than those attending <6 days/week. Our study showed that bacteria can survive on surfaces for long periods, depending on the user's habits and the device's characteristics. Open access paper: mdpi.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional
Effect directionharm
PopulationHealthcare university students
Sample size83
ExposureNot supplied
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In a cross-sectional sample of 83 healthcare students' mobile phones, most samples were positive for HPC 37 °C, HPC 22 °C, and Staphylococci (98%). A statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.262, p < 0.02) was reported between European head SAR and both HPC 37 °C and Staphylococci.

Outcomes measured

  • Heterotrophic plate count (HPC) at 22 °C
  • Heterotrophic plate count (HPC) at 37 °C
  • Enterococci
  • Gram-negative bacteria
  • Staphylococci
  • Bacterial load (CFU/dm2)

Limitations

  • Cross-sectional design (correlational; cannot infer causality)
  • Population limited to healthcare university students
  • Exposure characterization limited to reported European head SAR; frequency/dose during use not described in abstract
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Healthcare university students",
  "sample_size": 83,
  "outcomes": [
    "Heterotrophic plate count (HPC) at 22 °C",
    "Heterotrophic plate count (HPC) at 37 °C",
    "Enterococci",
    "Gram-negative bacteria",
    "Staphylococci",
    "Bacterial load (CFU/dm2)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In a cross-sectional sample of 83 healthcare students' mobile phones, most samples were positive for HPC 37 °C, HPC 22 °C, and Staphylococci (98%). A statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.262, p < 0.02) was reported between European head SAR and both HPC 37 °C and Staphylococci.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Cross-sectional design (correlational; cannot infer causality)",
    "Population limited to healthcare university students",
    "Exposure characterization limited to reported European head SAR; frequency/dose during use not described in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mobile phones",
    "specific absorption rate",
    "SAR",
    "bacterial contamination",
    "heterotrophic plate count",
    "Staphylococci",
    "Enterococci",
    "Gram-negative bacteria",
    "healthcare students"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study evaluates mobile phone characteristics including European head SAR in relation to outcomes."
    },
    {
      "slug": "exposure-assessment",
      "weight": 0.45,
      "reason": "Uses SAR as an exposure-related metric (correlation with bacterial load)."
    }
  ]
}
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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3390/life13061349
PubMed: Not supplied

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