Whether or not the mobile phones are the culprits behind the increasing incidences of brain tumor has been a subject of constant debate. Large-scale use of the cell-phones, a massive 90% of the population, has also prompted concern among the general masses about their health safety and cell-phone usage.
The comprehensive study published by the researchers from the University of Sydney in Cancer Epidemiology medical journal details summarizes their exhaustive research spanning 30-years. The good news, though, is that the research team;
“Found no increase in brain cancer incidence compatible with the steep increase in mobile phone use.”
A sigh of relief, indeed!
The research team undertook the examination of the 29 years of data recording the usage of the cell phones in Australia. In spite of an alarmingly high rate of mobile phone adoption, no significant increase in the occurrence of the brain tumor was discovered.
In Australia, the mobile usage has skyrocketed with a whopping 90% population owning a cell phone, in comparison with a mere 9% in 1993. During the same time span, the rate of the appearance of cancer in women remained stable while that in the men rose slightly. The study was conducted by examining the data of individuals aged 20 to 84 years.
Of the males, the only significant rise in brain cancer was observed in the senior citizens. However, the trend was traced back to 1982, five years before the cell phones were to land in Australia. The study attributed the increased rate of the brain tumor in elderly men to the enhanced diagnostics bringing those cases to light that otherwise went unnoticed.
The study details that the non-ionizing radiations emitted by the smart handsets are considered harmless for the DNA. To test the validity of the hypothesis claiming that the mobile phones are the chief culprits behind the increase in the rate of the brain tumor, a testing model was developed. The model was drawn up on the basis of a study by Lennart Hardell and assumed that a period of ten years of cell phone usage will pass before the first signs of cancer manifest themselves, whereby 50 percent increase in brain cancer will be recorded.
Based on the testing model, the researchers predicted 1886 cases of cancer in 2012; the actual number of incidences was 1435.
Since the Australian law demands that all the cases of cancer must be registered, thus the researchers had an excellent head-start regarding data availability.
The final conclusions drawn by the researchers indicate that despite the fast adoption of the cellular technology, the future poses no significant risks. The low energy rays emitted by the cell phones are not sufficient to result in ionization. At most, they can generate heat by exciting the electrons.
In Australia, cell phones have been in use since 1987, and some of the subscribers have been using them for as long as 20 years.
“But we are seeing no rise in the incidence of brain cancer against the background rate”
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