Patterns of cellular phone use among young people in 12 countries: Implications for RF exposure

2017 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 2247

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Patterns of cellular phone use among young people in 12 countries: Implications for RF exposure Langer CE, de Llobet P, Dalmau A, Wiart J, Goedhart G, Hours M, et al. (32 authors). Patterns of cellular phone use among young people in 12 countries: Implications for RF exposure. Environ Int. 2017 Jun 29;107:65-74. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.06.002. Highlights • Number and duration of calls varied by sex, age range, and socioeconomic status • Laterality and hands-free use were less influenced by user characteristics • Country of origin explained most of the variance in number and duration of calls, as well as SMS and data/Wi- Fi Abstract Characterizing exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields from wireless telecommunications technologies during childhood and adolescence is a research priority in investigating the health effects of RF. The Mobi-Expo study aimed to describe characteristics and determinants of cellular phone use in 534 young people (10-24years) in 12 countries. The study used a specifically designed software application installed on smartphones to collect data on the use of wireless telecommunications devices within this age group. The role of gender, age, maternal education, calendar period, and country was evaluated through multivariate models mutually adjusting for all variables. Call number and duration were higher among females compared to males (geometric mean (GM) ratio 1.17 and 1.42, respectively), among 20-24year olds compared to 10-14year olds (GM ratio 2.09 and 4.40, respectively), and among lowest compared to highest social classes (GM ratio 1.52 and 1.58, respectively). The number of SMS was higher in females (GM ratio 1.46) and the middle age group (15-19year olds: GM ratio 2.21 compared to 10-14year olds) and decreased over time. Data use was highest in the oldest age group, whereas Wi-Fi use was highest in the middle age group. Both data and Wi-Fi use increased over time. Large differences in the number and duration of calls, SMS, and data/Wi-Fi use were seen by country, with country and age accounting for up to 50% of the variance. Hands-free and laterality of use did not show significant differences by sex, age, education, study period, or country. Although limited by a convenience sample, these results provide valuable insights to the design, analysis, and interpretation of future epidemiological studies concerning the health effects of exposure resulting from cellular phone use in young people. In addition, the information provided by this research may be used to design strategies to minimize RF exposure. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Excerpts Participants made on average 30.6 calls per week (median 20.9) and spent 60.8 min per week making or receiving calls (median 34.3; Table 2). A total of 248 (46.4%) subjects had usable data for laterality. For these participants, 18.8% of total call time was "hands-free" on average (median 10.6%), i.e. using the speaker phone, a hands-free kit, or holding the phone away from the head (Table 2). Out of the total call time near the head (not "hands-free"), participants used the phone on the right side of the head in 63.8% of the time on average (median 70.8% - Table 2). With respect to gender, there was no statistically significant difference between males and females for hands-free usage, although females tended to speak somewhat less on their right-hand side (68% in males versus 61% in females, adj OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.54, 1.03). Overall, UMTS (3G) was the most commonly used communication protocol with 37% of voice calls occurring using UMTS. HSDPA (3G transitional) was the next most common, with 32% of voice calls. UMTS was the most common communication protocol in Canada, France, Greece, Italy, and The Netherlands (80%, 30%, 36%, 41%, and 55%, respectively) (Fig. 2). In contrast, HSDPA was the most common network in Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and Spain (69%, 36%, 68%, 51%, 46%, and 33%, respectively). The most common network in Korea was "other" (43%). GPRS and EDGE (both 2G transitional) were not commonly used in any of the countries during our study period; use ranged from 0% (Japan and Korea) to 32% (The Netherlands) GPRS and 22% (France and Germany) EDGE, respectively. In comparison with our findings, CEFALO, a study among 7-19 year old children and adolescents investigating possible associations between cellular phone use and brain tumors, had a much lower level of phone use among controls during a period from early 2004 through mid-2008 (Aydin et al., 2011). The top quartile of controls had a cumulative lifetime use of 2638 calls and 144 h spent on voice calls. Using the mean number and duration of calls, it would take the participants in our study less than three years to reach the lifetime use of the highest quartile of CEFALO controls. First, the handset is not near the head for the full call duration, but rather for about 83% of the time. In addition to intentional hands-free device or speaker phone usage, this is explained by other hands-free use such as answering and ending a call. Furthermore, the time spent with the phone on one side of the head was not as high as the 90% assigned to the self-reported predominant side within the RF dose algorithm used in the INTERPHONE study (Cardis et al., 2011a), but that was a study of older adults. A major limitation of this study is that it is a convenience sample, limiting the generalizability of the results. Given that most of the volunteers were found through friends and/or colleagues of the research team, the education level and in turn socioeconomic status is likely higher than that of the general population.

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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 typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionunclear

PopulationYoung people aged 10–24 years in 12 countries

Sample size534

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In 534 participants aged 10–24 years across 12 countries, call number and duration were higher among females, older participants (20–24 vs 10–14), and lower vs higher social classes; SMS was higher in females and the middle age group and decreased over time. Data use was highest in the oldest age group and Wi‑Fi use highest in the middle age group; both increased over time, and country and age explained up to ~50% of variance in use metrics. Hands-free use and laterality did not show statistically significant differences by sex, age, education, study period, or country; among those with laterality data, mean hands-free time was 18.8% and right-side use accounted for 63.8% of near-head call time.

Outcomes measured

Patterns/determinants of mobile phone use (call number, call duration, SMS, data use, Wi‑Fi use)
Hands-free use and laterality of phone use
Network/communication protocol used for voice calls (e.g., UMTS, HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE)

Limitations

Convenience sample limiting generalizability
Socioeconomic status/education likely higher than general population due to recruitment via friends/colleagues
Laterality data usable only for a subset of participants (248/534)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Young people aged 10–24 years in 12 countries",
  "sample_size": 534,
  "outcomes": [
    "Patterns/determinants of mobile phone use (call number, call duration, SMS, data use, Wi‑Fi use)",
    "Hands-free use and laterality of phone use",
    "Network/communication protocol used for voice calls (e.g., UMTS, HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In 534 participants aged 10–24 years across 12 countries, call number and duration were higher among females, older participants (20–24 vs 10–14), and lower vs higher social classes; SMS was higher in females and the middle age group and decreased over time. Data use was highest in the oldest age group and Wi‑Fi use highest in the middle age group; both increased over time, and country and age explained up to ~50% of variance in use metrics. Hands-free use and laterality did not show statistically significant differences by sex, age, education, study period, or country; among those with laterality data, mean hands-free time was 18.8% and right-side use accounted for 63.8% of near-head call time.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Convenience sample limiting generalizability",
    "Socioeconomic status/education likely higher than general population due to recruitment via friends/colleagues",
    "Laterality data usable only for a subset of participants (248/534)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency",
    "RF exposure",
    "mobile phone use",
    "children",
    "adolescents",
    "young adults",
    "hands-free",
    "laterality",
    "Wi-Fi",
    "data use",
    "SMS",
    "UMTS",
    "HSDPA",
    "multinational"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.32,
      "reason": "Assesses Wi‑Fi use patterns in young people (though not specifically school-based)."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.06.002
PubMed: Not supplied

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