Contact:
Mag. My Hue McGowran
Phone: +43-1-81140-308
E-Mail: mcgowran@pressetext.com
| Pressbox | 
|
London (pte026/17.05.2005/13:38) - Research findings recently published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine http://www.oem.bmjjournals.com by Swedish scientists says that mobile phones pose a health risk to those living in the country. The researchers say that because base stations are further apart in remote areas the mobile phones send out stronger signals, which can cause brain tumours.
Professor Lennart Hardell, of the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden, said: "We found that the risk of brain tumour was higher for people living in rural areas than in towns." He commented that the stronger signals made the risk higher.
Ever since mobile phones were introduced, scientists have warned about possible health risks. As yet no conclusive evidence has been brought to substantiate such claims. Users have been warned by health officials and researchers about radio frequency levels, and advised to use hands-free accessories.
According to Hardell, the presence of brain tumours may only be discovered in users after a period of 10-year mobile phone usage. He and his colleagues studied 1470 healthy people and 1429 malignant and benign brain tumours. Those who lived in rural areas and had used the phones for more than three years were three times more likely to be diagnosed with a tumour than those who lived in the city. Those who had used mobile phones for more than five years were four times more at risk of having a tumour than city dwellers.
Professor Hardell admitted that other undetected risks in rural areas could not yet be excluded, but that he and his team of researchers "have tried to adjust the results, as far as we know".
(end)
|
|
