Significance of micronuclei in buccal smears of mobile phone users: A comparative study

2018 · Harm · Low evidence

← Research stream

HarmLow evidencePaper 1903

Mean micronuclei (MN) count in buccal cells was significantly higher in high mobile phone users than low users. MN counts were reported as higher for CDMA than GSM users, higher in non-headphone users than headphone users, and higher on the side of phone use …

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Significance of micronuclei in buccal smears of mobile phone users: A comparative study Vanishree M, Manvikar V, Rudraraju A, Reddy KMP, Kumar NHP, Quadri SJM. Significance of micronuclei in buccal smears of mobile phone users: A comparative study. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2018 Sep-Dec;22(3):448. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.JOMFP_201_18. Abstract AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to evaluate the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in the buccal exfoliated cells of mobile phone users. In addition, comparison of MN frequency between high and low mobile phone users was also done. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 male and 30 female participants between the age group of 20-28 years were selected from the Outpatient Department of Navodaya Dental College and Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka. The participants were divided into two groups: Group A - low mobile phone users and Group B - high mobile phone users. Cell sampling and preparation was done on the slide. All the slides were observed for a total of 1000 cells for the presence and number of MN in each cell. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the mean MN count in Group B in comparison to the Group A. There was highly significant difference in the mean MN count of participants using (code division multiple access) CDMA than (global system for mobiles) GSM mobile phones. The MN mean count was found to be significantly increased in non-headphone users in comparison to headphone users. In Group B, the MN count on the side of mobile phone use was found to be statistically significantly elevated in comparison to the opposite side. CONCLUSION: Mobile phone radiation even in the permissible range when used for longer duration can cause significant genotoxicity. The genotoxicity accentuates when mobile phones are frequently used on the same side which may be due to more amount of radiation and increase in the temperature. Headphone usage reduces the genotoxicity of mobile phone radiation to some extent. Open access paper: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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

PopulationMale and female participants aged 20–28 years selected from the Outpatient Department of Navodaya Dental College and Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka (India)

Sample size60

ExposureRF · comparison of high vs low mobile phone users; longer duration implied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Micronuclei (MN) frequency/count in buccal exfoliated cells (genotoxicity marker)
Differences in MN count by user group (high vs low)
Differences in MN count by phone technology (CDMA vs GSM)
Differences in MN count by headphone use (non-headphone vs headphone)
Differences in MN count by side of phone use (ipsilateral vs contralateral)

Limitations

Exposure metrics (e.g., frequency, SAR, quantified call time) not reported in the abstract
Cross-sectional/comparative design; causality cannot be established from the abstract
Single-center outpatient sample; generalizability unclear
Potential confounding factors not described in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "comparison of high vs low mobile phone users; longer duration implied"
  },
  "population": "Male and female participants aged 20–28 years selected from the Outpatient Department of Navodaya Dental College and Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka (India)",
  "sample_size": 60,
  "outcomes": [
    "Micronuclei (MN) frequency/count in buccal exfoliated cells (genotoxicity marker)",
    "Differences in MN count by user group (high vs low)",
    "Differences in MN count by phone technology (CDMA vs GSM)",
    "Differences in MN count by headphone use (non-headphone vs headphone)",
    "Differences in MN count by side of phone use (ipsilateral vs contralateral)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Mean micronuclei (MN) count in buccal cells was significantly higher in high mobile phone users than low users. MN counts were reported as higher for CDMA than GSM users, higher in non-headphone users than headphone users, and higher on the side of phone use than the opposite side among high users.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure metrics (e.g., frequency, SAR, quantified call time) not reported in the abstract",
    "Cross-sectional/comparative design; causality cannot be established from the abstract",
    "Single-center outpatient sample; generalizability unclear",
    "Potential confounding factors not described in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mobile phone",
    "radiofrequency",
    "buccal smear",
    "micronuclei",
    "genotoxicity",
    "CDMA",
    "GSM",
    "headphone use"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study compares high vs low mobile phone users and reports buccal-cell micronuclei outcomes."
    }
  ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

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: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_201_18
PubMed: Not supplied

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library