Stay away from your smartphone for a while, latest research shows that prolonged use of mobile phones can give you brain cancer.
People in the study, who used mobile phones for 25 years or more, tripled their risk of getting glioma, a deadly cancer that starts from the brain tissues called glia, which help to support nerve cells. Glioma, according to the Mayo Clinic, can occur in the brain or spinal cord.
The risk went up with the more hours or years, people remained glued to their mobile phones, Reuters reported.
"The risk is three times higher after 25 years of use. We can see this clearly," lead researcher of the study Dr Lennart Hardell, told Reuters.
For the study, researchers from the University Hospital in Orebro in Sweden looked at 1,380 people with malignant brain tumours. Results showed that using wireless phones for 20 to 25 years doubled the risk of glioma, while cell and cordless phone use lasting over 25 years nearly tripled the risk.
People with a high exposure to the wireless phone- say 1,486 hours – had a double risk of the brain cancer than those who had a lower exposure of one to 122 hours.
Concerned about the hidden risk, experts urged the public to use speaker phone or hands-free.
The findings come at a time when nearly 6.9 billion people around the world use mobile phones.
Similar to the current study, in 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialised cancer agency of the WHO located in Lyon, France, categorised wireless phone use as carcinogenic to humans.
Experts from the National Cancer Institute have earlier issued a report that warned against the excess cell phone use. They said that the radio frequency energy emitted by cell phones can be observed by the body and also cited certain studies that linked cell phones to brain and nerve cancer.
Similarly, in an incident that took place in 2012, a 60-year-old Italian businessman, named Innocente Marcolini, developed tumour in the trigeminal nerve- the area where phone touches head- after he used his mobile phone for six hours daily for 12 years. The case received international attention after the Italian Supreme Court found a "causal link" between the cancer and his total mobile phone exposure, The Telegraph reported.
Apart from this, mobile phones have also been blamed for triggering allergic reactions and making men infertile.
However, contradicting these, a study released early this year found no health risk associated with cell phones.
The new study has been reported in Pathophysiology.
