Prenatal Cell Phone Use Linked To Children's Behavior
Posted on: Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 12:20 CDT
A recent study suggested that heavy cell phone use among pregnant mothers could be linked to a higher likelihood of having children with behavioral problems.
Dr. Leeka Kheifets of the UCLA School of Public Health and her colleagues looked at a group of 13,159 children whose mothers were participants in the Danish National Birth Cohort study. Mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire about their children’s behavior and health once they reached age 7.
After the researchers adjusted for factors that could influence the results, such as a mother's psychiatric problems and socioeconomic factors, children with both prenatal and postnatal cell phone exposure were 80 percent more likely to have abnormal or borderline scores on tests evaluating emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, or problems with peers.
The finding "certainly shouldn't be over interpreted, but nevertheless points in a direction where further research is needed," said Dr. Kheifets.
"It's a wonderful technology and people are certainly going to be using it more and more," she added. "We need to be looking into what are the potential health effects and what are ways to reduce risks should there be any."
Children who were exposed prenatally only had an increased risk of developing such problems than those who were exposed only postnatally, researchers said. Risks were lower than for children exposed at both time points.
A fetus is not likely to receive extreme exposure to radiofrequency fields through a mother’s cell phone use. However, they add, research has shown that children using cell phones are exposed to more radiofrequency energy than adults, because their ears and brains are smaller.
Thirty percent of children were found using a cell phone, but only 1 percent used a cell phone for more than one hour each week. Thus, researchers concluded that radiofrequency exposure seems unlikely to have caused any behavior problems.
"Another possible explanation for the observed association might be the lack of attention given to a child by mothers who are frequent users of cell phones," the researchers suggest. They note that mothers who used cell phones frequently were of lower socio-occupational status, more likely to have mental health and psychiatric problems, and more likely to have smoked while they were pregnant.
Dr. Kheifets said the best way to reduce exposure to cell phones is by using hands-free technology.
Editorialists writing in the journal raise the question of whether the publication of these findings may scare people for no reason.
"We felt that the public is quite capable of dealing with proper information," Kheifets said. "One shouldn't really try to be paternalistic about it."
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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