Mobile phone use and risk of glioma: a case-control study in Korea for 2002-2007

Abstract

Objectives: : There has been a growing concern about the possible carcinogenic effects of the electromagnetic radiofrequency fields emitted from mobile phones. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between mobile phone use and the development of gliomas in Korea.Methods: : Our study methods were based on the International Interphone study that aimed to evaluate possible adverse effects of mobile phone use. This study included 285 histologically-confirmed Korean patients 15-69 years of age, with gliomas diagnosed between 2002 and 2007 in 9 hospitals. The 285 individually-matched controls were healthy individuals examined at the same hospitals for medical check-ups. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95{%} confidence intervals (CIs) for use of mobile phones.Results: : For the entire group, there was no significant association between gliomas and regular use of mobile phones, type of mobile phone, lifetime years of use, monthly service fee, and the other exposure indices investigated. Analyses restricted to self-respondents showed similar results. However, in case that the body side for usual mobile phone use agreed with the location of a glioma (ipsilateral use) for all the respondents, the ORs (95{%} Cis) for the lifetime years of use and cumulative hours of use were 1.25 (0.55-2.88) and 1.77 (0.32-1.84), respectively. The contralateral users showed slightly lower risk than the ipsilateral users.Conclusion: : Our results do not support the hypothesis that the use of mobile phones increases the risk of gliomas in Koreans; however, we found a non-significant increase in risks among ipsilateral users. These findings warrant further evaluation for glioma risks among long-term mobile phone users.