Mobile phones do not cause brain cancer, new research suggests.
A Spanish study of more than 9,000 people found no evidence radiation given off by mobiles and microwaves makes people more at risk of brain tumours.
Mobiles give off electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation, which has been linked to genetic damage and cancer.
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified EMF as possibly cancer causing in humans.
However scientists of the recent study, the largest so far, argue the health body was likely erring on the side of caution due to EMF being so widespread, with everyone being exposed to some extent.
Mobile phones do not cause brain cancer, new research suggests (stock)
How the research was carried out
The researchers, from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, analysed around 9,000 people from seven countries, of which more than 5,000 had a brain tumour.
EMF exposure was collected via interviews to determine if the participants worked with or nearby radiation sources.
The participants’ careers varied, with some having high EMF exposure jobs such as medical diagnostics, telecommunications and radar engineering.
Of the participants, 10 per cent were considered to have high EMF exposure and one per cent intermediate amounts.
Further studies required
Results suggest there is no evidence that EMF exposure causes brain cancer.
The researchers add, however, only relatively few of the participants were exposed to high amounts of EMF.
Therefore the study should be repeated with more people who have come into contact with high amounts of EMF.
Findings, published in the journal Environment International, also suggest brain tumours that do occur are more common in those who have been exposed to EMF in the past decade.
Study author Javier Vila said: ‘Although we did not find a positive association, the fact that we observed indication of an increased risk in the group with most recent radiofrequency exposure deserves further investigation.’
The results also imply EMF exposure worsens brain cancer in already ill people.
Mobiles increase the risk of a woman suffering a miscarriage
This comes after research released last December suggests Wi-fi and mobile phones increase pregnant women’s risk of suffering a miscarriage by nearly 50 per cent.
Those exposed to the highest levels of EMF radiation are 48 per cent more likely to lose their baby than women exposed to the lowest amounts, a study by Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, found.
Among pregnant women exposed to the highest levels of EMF radiation, 24.2 per cent have a miscarriage compared to 10.4 per cent of those exposed to the lowest amounts.
This risk occurs regardless of whether women have suffered miscarriages in the past and are therefore more likely to lose another baby before its birth.