Chennai: Here is good news for mobile users. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said there are no established studies to prove the adverse health effects caused by use of mobile phones.
Doctors say they treat patients for symptomatic problems for usage of mobile phones. In the short-term assessment, WHO report states that tissue heating is the primary concern of exposure to the human body, but the frequencies of mobiles are so low that they result in negligible rise in temperature of the brain or other organs.
The studies probed the effects of radio waves on the brain’s electrical activity, function, sleep, heart rate and blood pressure but did not find any consistent evidence of adverse health effects. The study led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says, the analysis of data from 13 participating countries found no increased risk of brain tumours due to use of mobile phones for more than 10 years.
Dr D.S. Halprashanth, neurologist, Global Hospitals says, “As mobile phones are widely used in the country only since 2000, it will take time to find out the direct health effects of using mobile phones.”
Studies show that more energy is used on the side of the ear where the mobile phone is used for a long, but there is no information about how many hours of mobile usage will affect the ear. “As the brain’s physical growth stops at the age of two, children below two years should not be given mobile phones to prevent risk of affecting the brain,” he says.
“Symptomatic problems that mobile phone usage for long hours leads to ear ache, hearing of unusual sounds, neck and shoulder pain, eye problems, decreased concentration, unnecessary anger and stress,” says Dr Sathish Kumar, stroke specialist and Neurologist, Fortis Malar Hospital. Neurologists caution that it is better to limit the usage of mobile phones, and preferably use landlines whenever possible.
