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Maternal cell phone use during pregnancy and child behavioral problems in five birth cohorts

2017 · Harm · Moderate evidence

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HarmModerate evidencePaper 2289

In pooled analyses across five cohorts, mothers reporting no cell phone use during pregnancy were less likely to have a child with overall behavioral, hyperactivity/inattention, or emotional problems. Increasing maternal cell phone use was associated with hig…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017
Study typecohort
Reported directionHarm
Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

Maternal cell phone use during pregnancy and child behavioral problems in five birth cohorts Laura Birks, Mònica Guxens, Eleni Papadopoulou, Jan Alexander, Ferran Ballester, Marisa Estarlich, Mara Gallastegi, Mina Ha, Margaretha Haugen, Anke Huss, Leeka Kheifets et al. Maternal cell phone use during pregnancy and child behavioral problems in five birth cohorts. Environment International. Published online April 7, 2017. doi.org "This is the largest study to date to evaluate these associations and to show mostly consistent results across cohorts with retrospectively and prospectively assessed maternal cell phone use." Highlights • Largest study to date to use prenatal cell phone use data collected prospectively. • High prenatal cell phone use linked to hyperactivity/inattention problems in child. • No prenatal cell phone use linked to low risk for any behavioral problems in child. • Analysis adjusted for many confounders, but associations cannot be judged causal. • Future research should adjust for parenting style, maternal hyperactivity, and more. Introduction Previous studies have reported associations between prenatal cell phone use and child behavioral problems, but findings have been inconsistent and based on retrospective assessment of cell phone use. This study aimed to assess this association in a multi-national analysis, using data from three cohorts with prospective data on prenatal cell phone use, together with previously published data from two cohorts with retrospectively collected cell phone use data. Methods We used individual participant data from 83,884 mother-child pairs in the five cohorts from Denmark (1996-2002), Korea (2006-2011), the Netherlands (2003-2004), Norway (2004-2008), and Spain (2003-2008). We categorized cell phone use into none, low, medium, and high, based on frequency of calls during pregnancy reported by the mothers. Child behavioral problems (reported by mothers using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire or Child Behavior Checklist) were classified in the borderline/clinical and clinical ranges using validated cut-offs in children aged 5-7 years. Cohort specific risk estimates were meta-analyzed. Results Overall, 38.8% of mothers, mostly from the Danish cohort, reported no cell phone use during pregnancy and these mothers were less likely to have a child with overall behavioral, hyperactivity/inattention or emotional problems. Evidence for a trend of increasing risk of child behavioral problems through the maternal cell phone use categories was observed for hyperactivity/inattention problems (OR for problems in the clinical range: 1.11, 95% CI 1.01, 1.22; 1.28, 95% CI 1.12, 1.48, among children of medium and high users, respectively). This association was fairly consistent across cohorts and between cohorts with retrospectively and prospectively collected cell phone use data. Conclusions Maternal cell phone use during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk for behavioral problems, particularly hyperactivity/inattention problems, in the offspring. The interpretation of these results is unclear as uncontrolled confounding may influence both maternal cell phone use and child behavioral problems. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Also see: Pregnancy & Wireless Radiation Risks

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 typecohort
Effect directionharm
PopulationMother-child pairs from five birth cohorts (Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain); children assessed at ages 5–7 years
Sample size83884
ExposureRF · during pregnancy (categorized as none/low/medium/high based on frequency of calls)
Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In pooled analyses across five cohorts, mothers reporting no cell phone use during pregnancy were less likely to have a child with overall behavioral, hyperactivity/inattention, or emotional problems. Increasing maternal cell phone use was associated with higher odds of hyperactivity/inattention problems (clinical range OR 1.11 [95% CI 1.01–1.22] for medium use; OR 1.28 [95% CI 1.12–1.48] for high use), with fairly consistent results across cohorts.

Outcomes measured

  • Child behavioral problems (overall)
  • Hyperactivity/inattention problems
  • Emotional problems

Limitations

  • Exposure based on maternal self-report of call frequency during pregnancy
  • Potential uncontrolled confounding; authors state associations cannot be judged causal and interpretation is unclear
  • Behavioral outcomes reported by mothers using questionnaires (SDQ/CBCL)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "cohort",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "during pregnancy (categorized as none/low/medium/high based on frequency of calls)"
  },
  "population": "Mother-child pairs from five birth cohorts (Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain); children assessed at ages 5–7 years",
  "sample_size": 83884,
  "outcomes": [
    "Child behavioral problems (overall)",
    "Hyperactivity/inattention problems",
    "Emotional problems"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In pooled analyses across five cohorts, mothers reporting no cell phone use during pregnancy were less likely to have a child with overall behavioral, hyperactivity/inattention, or emotional problems. Increasing maternal cell phone use was associated with higher odds of hyperactivity/inattention problems (clinical range OR 1.11 [95% CI 1.01–1.22] for medium use; OR 1.28 [95% CI 1.12–1.48] for high use), with fairly consistent results across cohorts.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure based on maternal self-report of call frequency during pregnancy",
    "Potential uncontrolled confounding; authors state associations cannot be judged causal and interpretation is unclear",
    "Behavioral outcomes reported by mothers using questionnaires (SDQ/CBCL)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "prenatal exposure",
    "maternal cell phone use",
    "pregnancy",
    "birth cohorts",
    "behavioral problems",
    "hyperactivity",
    "inattention",
    "SDQ",
    "CBCL",
    "meta-analysis of cohorts",
    "individual participant data"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}
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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.2017.03.024
PubMed: Not supplied

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