Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Cell phones don't increase cancer risk, new study says

A Danish study followed 350,000 subscribers for 18 years, although critics point to gaps in the research.

A Danish study that monitored 350,000 cell phone users over an 18-year period found no link between mobile phone subscriptions and an increased risk of cancer.

The new study, conducted by the Danish Cancer Society and published in published in the British Medical Journal, is actually an update of an older study that adds five years of follow-up data running through 2007. It found no increased risk of tumors or other forms of cancer believed to be associated with cell phone use, even among those who held mobile phone subscriptions for more than a decade.

The study's approach has one clear weakness, however – it looks only at records of cell phone subscriptions, and not actual cell phone usage.

Devra Davis, a cancer epidemiologist and president of Environmental Health Trust, a group that actively campaigns for warning labels on cell phones, pointed out other flaws with the study:

“In order for any study of a relatively rare disease like brain tumors to find a change in risk, millions must be followed for decades," Davis explains in a lengthy critique of the study. She added that it "excludes those who would have been the heaviest users—namely more than 300,000 business people in the 1990s who are known to have used phones four times as much as those in this study.”

The authors of the study concede that their findings cannot be considered definitive and that a "small to moderate increase in risk for subgroups of heavy users or after even longer induction periods than 10-15 years cannot be ruled out" without larger studies.

The Danish study comes just months after World Health Organization research determined that cell phones should be considered "possibly carcinogenic." The international INTERPHONE study, released last year, also found no connection between cell phone use and cancer, but was widely criticized for being partially funded by the wireless industry.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: ASE, World Health Organization
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: consumer electronics, Phones, research, smartphones
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Think print, Think security - Plugging the printer security gap
    The widespread use of networked printers and multifunction peripherals (MFPs) which scan, print, fax, copy and email has increased productivity in the production of all types of business output. However, the growing sophistication of these devices has also increased security risks associated with printing. Network connectivity, along with hard disk and memory storage, means that MFPs are now susceptible to many of the same security risks as PCs and servers alongside the traditional risk of sensitive printed output getting into the wrong hands. However, all too often the security of the print environment is overlooked and little is done to mitigate these threats. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • HP Managed Print Services solutioning methodology
    Many organisations launch initiatives to increase the efficiency of their imaging and printing environment—only to quickly find that maintaining those improvements is the real challenge. Sustainable, long-term efficiency gains require that imaging and printing be approached as part of your organisation’s overall IT strategy. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • Server and Storage Optimization Techniques
    By meeting the requirements to deploy new applications and support a larger number of internal and external customers, IT organizations are facing a space, power, and cooling crunch. Read on.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments