A new study has revealed that cases of a malignant type of tumour in mobile phone users have doubled in the last two decades, suggesting that the device causes cancer. Mobile phones work by transmitting and receiving radio frequency microwave radiation.
The study published in the Journal of Public Health and Environment linked sharp rise in the rates of brain cancer (gliomas) to mobile phone use.
The researchers set out to investigate the rise in cases of an aggressive and often fatal type of brain tumour known as Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). They analysed 79,241 malignant brain tumours over 21 years, finding that cases of GBM in England have increased from around 1,250 a year in 1995 to just less than 3,000.
The study is the first recent effort of its kind to analyse in detail the incidence of different types of malignant tumours.
The scientists at the Physicians’ Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment (PHIRE) say the increase of GBM has till now been masked by the overall fall in incidence of other types of brain tumour.
This means that no fewer than 140 million mobile phone subscribers in Nigeria are at risk of developing brain cancer.
A radiologist at the Radiation Medicine Department of University of Nigeria College of Medicine (UNCM) and University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, told The Guardian: “There is a continued fight between mobile phone companies and medical research community, where there has been clear evidence of association between increased incidence of gliomas and consistent habit of holding your phone to the right ear.”
Okoye, who is also the founder of a non-governmental organisation, Breast Without Spot (BWS), said it was even worse in young persons whose blood brain barrier still allows considerable damage to their brain. “The association was so strong, that a couple of years ago, mobile phones were prohibited for use in underage adolescents,” she said.
Also, a recent Nigerian study that examined the potential adverse health effects of mobile phones and wireless base stations in the country revealed the inherent dangers.
An analysis of the study published in American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER) 2017 showed: “… people living close to the based stations over a long period of time with or without cell phone, and also the heavy phone users with close proximity to the base stations are liable to have some potential health hazards, such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, feeling of discomfort, difficulty in concentrating, depression, memory loss, visual disruptions, irritability, hearing disruptions, skin problems, cardiovascular disorders, and dizziness.”
The researchers from the Department of Computer Engineering and Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, include Yekini N.A, Babalola I.T, Koledoye T.O and Uhunmwangho E. E.
They concluded: “The level of the symptoms depends on length of period individuals have stayed or live near the base station; length of time individual spent on receiving or making calls with his/her mobile phone.
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