International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
After so many warnings not substantiated by scientific evidence, it is ultimately successful. The latest issue of Epidemiology has published a study from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that the use of mobile phones for 10 years or more is able to determine the doubling of cases of a rare type of tumor, acoustic neurinoma. The study is Swedish, but the participating nations the project 'Interphone', coordinated by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), Lyon-based agency of the WHO, are 13. Earlier this year, the results of the Danish tranche had a sigh of relief to the handset manufacturers because it had not detected an increased risk to health in those who used the phone. But the Danish study was smaller than that of Sweden. And of course now all eyes turn toward the other branches of the study-participating countries are 13 - the results of which should be published in early 2005.
Some other note is from the full text.
1 - The phones are used more on the right (52%) than left (39%) and 9% on both sides.
2 - The risk is not related to the increase in working hours of the phone.
3 - are observed more tumors on the side where you use the phone more (59% on the right).
4 - acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor is slow growing and usually takes several years before clinical diagnosis.
5 - Usually spend more than five years since the first symptom to diagnosis.
Mobile phone use and the risk of acoustic neuroma.
Lonn S, Ahlbom A, Hall P, Feychting M.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, S- 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
Stefan.Lonn@imm.ki.se
BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones is concentrated to the tissue closest to the handset, which includes the auditory nerve. If this type of exposure increases tumor risk, acoustic neuroma would be a potential concern.
METHODS: In this population-based case-control study we identified all cases age 20 to 69 years diagnosed with acoustic neuroma during 1999 to 2002 in certain parts of Sweden. Controls were randomly selected from the study base, stratified on age, sex, and residential area. Detailed information about mobile phone use and other environmental exposures was collected from 148 (93%) cases and 604 (72%) controls.
RESULTS: The overall odds ratio for acoustic neuroma associated with regular mobile phone use was 1.0 (95% confidence interval = 0.6-1.5). Ten years after the start of mobile phone use the estimates relative risk increased to 1.9 (0.9-4.1); when restricting to tumors on the same side of the head as the phone was normally used, the relative risk was 3.9 (1.6-9.5).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not indicate an increased risk of acoustic neuroma related to short-term mobile phone use after a short latency period. However, our data suggest an increased risk of acoustic neuroma associated with mobile phone use of at least 10 years’ duration.
15 nov 2004 - fonte Epidemiology
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