Study type:
Epidemiological study
(observational study)
Mobile Phone Usage and its Health Effects Among Adults in a Semi-Urban Area of Southern India
epidem.
By:
Stalin P, Abraham SB, Kanimozhy K, Prasad RV, Singh Z, Purty AJ
Published in: J Clin of Diagn Res 2016; 10 (1): LC14-LC16
Aim of study (acc. to author)
Endpoint/type of risk estimation
- symptoms of discomfort: headache, earache, neck pain, tinnitus, painful fingers, restlessness, morning tiredness, tingling fingers, fatigue, eye symptoms, sleep disturbance and hypertension
- sleep disturbances
Exposure
Assessment
- interview: mobile phone use and pattern (e.g. calling, SMS, listening to music, playing games, internet use)
Exposure groups
|
Group
|
Description
|
|
Reference group 1
|
mobile phone use: no
|
|
Group 2
|
mobile phone use: yes
|
Population
-
Group:
-
Age:
≥ 18 years
-
Characteristics:
residents in the area for more than 1 year
-
Observation period:
January 2014
-
Study location:
India (Kottakuppam)
Study size
| Type |
Value |
| Participants |
2,121 |
| Evaluable |
2,054 |
Statistical analysis method:
(
adjustment:
- age
- sex
- socioeconomic status
)
Results (acc. to author)
Overall, 69.8% of the participants reported to use mobile phones. Most of them were using calling facility (94.2%), followed by SMS facility (67.6%).
Health problems that were found to be positively associated with mobile phone usage were headache, earache, neck pain, tinnitus, painful fingers, morning tiredness, fatigue, eye symptoms, sleep disturbance and restlessness. Hypertension was more uncommon among mobile phone users compared to non-users.
The authors concluded that an association between selected health symptoms and mobile phone use was observed.
Study funded by
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