Mobile phones have become an inevitable part of our daily lives, often without us even realizing it. However, their convenience may come with potential health risks that are now slowly coming to light.
The latest study published in the Canadian Journal Of Cardiology suggests that frequent cellphone use may increase the risk of heart disease, especially among current smokers and individuals with diabetes. The risk is partly due to the poor sleep, psychological distress, and neuroticism associated with mobile use, the research revealed.
"Mobile phone use is a ubiquitous exposure in modern society, so exploring its impact on health has significant public health value. Radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile phones cause dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inflammatory responses, and oxidative stress. They are expected to affect various organs such as the heart and blood vessels. However, whether mobile phone use is associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases remains uncertain," Dr. Yanjun Zhang, the study author explained the significance of the latest study.
To estimate the long-term health effects of mobile phone use, the researchers conducted a large-scale comprehensive study involving 444,027 participants from the UK Biobank, who did not have a history of cardiovascular disease. The participant's mobile phone usage between 2006 and 2010 was assessed based on self-reported data. Regular use was defined as making at least one call per week.
During the median follow-up of 12.3 years, the researchers tracked the incidence of stroke, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure of the participants using linked hospital and mortality records.
The findings indicate that "compared with non-regular mobile phone users, regular mobile phone users had a significantly higher risk of incident cardiovascular diseases."
When the researchers explored how sleep patterns, psychological distress, and neuroticism influenced these outcomes, they found out that these factors may be potential mechanisms of the association between mobile phone use and cardiovascular diseases.
"A poor sleep pattern and poor mental health may adversely affect the development of cardiovascular diseases through disrupted circadian rhythm, endocrine and metabolic disruption, and increased inflammation. In addition, chronic exposure to RF-EMF radiation emitted from mobile phones could lead to oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Therefore, RF-EMF radiation exposure from mobile phones in combination with smoking and diabetes may have a synergistic effect in increasing cardiovascular disease risk," said the co-investigator Xianhui Qin in a news release.
While the findings suggest a moderately increased risk of disease with mobile phone use, the researchers caution that this does not warrant alarm for the general public. Instead, they advocate for "responsible mobile phone habits" as a valuable part of a comprehensive approach to maintaining cardiovascular health.
"Maintaining responsible mobile phone habits should be a valuable component of an all-encompassing approach to supporting cardiovascular health. Before diving into hours of mindless 'doom-scrolling' on your smartphone today, consider redirecting this time toward a more heart-healthy activity," said co-author of the editorial Nicholas Grubic.
