Cell Phone Use May Weaken Bones, Study Finds

Exactly how dangerous <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Cell-Phones-Cause-Cancer-Radiation-Exposure-Lawsuit-Lawyer">cell phone radiation might be has been an issue of dispute, with the industry, not surprisingly, insisting the devices are safe. While numerous studies point to links between the devices and dangerous diseases including cancer and fertility issues, an emerging study has found a potential link to reduced bone density.

Dr Fernando Sravi of Argentina’s National University of Cuyo reports that men who wear their cell phone on their belt on the right side of their body experienced reduced bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) in that hip, said TG Daily. “The different patterns of right-left asymmetry in femoral bone mineral found in mobile cell phone users and non-users are consistent with a nonthermal effect of electromagnetic radiofrequency waves not previously described,” he said, quoted TG Daily.

Sravi measured the BMC and BMD in both hips in two groups of healthy men, said TG Daily. Both groups were comprised of 24 men; one group did not use cell phones and one group carried their devices in a belt pouch on the right side of their bodies for at least 12 months. While the average hip BMC and BMD measurements did not differ significantly in both groups, the men who did not use the devices tested with higher BMC in the right femoral neck, near the top of the thigh bone, explained TG Daily.

The cell phone group also had lower BMD and BMC at the right trochanter, an area outside of the top of the thigh bone, where the cell phone would rest, said TG Daily, noting that there was a link between reduced density and how much time the device was carried. The study suggests that long-term exposure to cell phones’ electromagnetic radiation could impact bone mineralization, noted TG Daily.

As we’ve previously written, in Germany, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection urges consumers to minimize individual exposure by, among other things, advising that they use a land line when it is available, and choose phones with low SAR value. Health agencies in Switzerland, Germany, Israel, France, the United Kingdom and Finland have all recommended reducing children’s exposure to cell phone radiation. And, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) points out that some studies have found a significantly higher risks for brain and salivary gland tumors among people who have used cell phones for 10 years or longer.

Researchers not funded by the mobile phone industry have long made links between the radiation cell phones emit and human health risks, specifically to children who have smaller heads and thinner skulls, noted CitizenTimes, which cited a number of prior studies and works. For instance, a 2009 study of 11 prior studies, published in Surgical Neurology, revealed that cell phone use for a decade or longer doubles risks for “a brain tumor on the same (ipsilateral) side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use.”

Another 2009 study of 23 prior studies, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, revealed that cell phone use, also for at least a decade, resulted in a 10- to 30-percent increased risk of developing cancer versus people who never or rarely used the devices. In Dr. Devra Davis’s book Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family, stated that all studies of heavy cell phone over a 10-year time frame pointed to increased brain tumor risks and that science has been warning, since 2000 against children’s use of the devices.