Pregnant women who used cell phones are at risk of producing children with behavioral problems than non-cell phone users. This is according to a large-scale study by UCLA School of Public Health and University of Aarhus, Institute of Public Health researchers in Denmark. A total of 13,159 Danish children born in 1997 and 1998 were involved in this study.
Children who were exposed to cell phones before and/or after birth tended to have higher prevalence of emotional symptoms, behavioral problems, inattention, hyperactivity and problems with peers.
When looking at the combined use of cell phones during pregnancy and in childhood, it was observed that children were 80 percent more likely to have behavioral problems compared to children who do not use a cell phone and whose mothers did not use cell phones during pregnancy. When looking at cell phone use during pregnancy alone and not during childhood, children were 54 percent more likely to have behavioral problems.
But the investigators make clear that these observed associations may be caused by other factors than cell phone use and that further study is necessary.
The results are surprising because the expected exposure to the fetus is very low. But the investigators add that a child’s immature nervous system is extremely vulnerable to toxicants, which can result in behaviors that may not emerge until well into childhood, adolescence or adulthood, therefore it is valuable to continue to track the health outcomes of these children.
Source:
:: UCLA School of Public Health, 21 May 2008
:: Daily Mail, 19 May 2008
Chapter: Pregnancy :: 24 June 2008
