Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23302218›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2013

New Zealand adolescents' cellphone and cordless phone user-habits: are they at increased risk of brain tumours already? A cross-sectional study.

Mary Redmayne

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mary RedmayneSchool of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Science Faculty, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. mary.redmayne@gmail.com
Victoria University of Wellington · NZ

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCellphone and cordless phone use is very prevalent among early adolescents, but the extent and types of use is not well documented. This paper explores how, and to what extent, New Zealand adolescents are typically using and exposed to active cellphones and cordless phones, and considers implications of this in relation to brain tumour risk, with reference to current research findings.

methodsThis cross-sectional study recruited 373 Year 7 and 8 school students with a mean age of 12.3 years (range 10.3-13.7 years) from the Wellington region of New Zealand. Participants completed a questionnaire and measured their normal body-to-phone texting distances. Main exposure-metrics included self-reported time spent with an active cellphone close to the body, estimated time and number of calls on both phone types, estimated and actual extent of SMS text-messaging, cellphone functions used and people texted. Statistical analyses used Pearson Chi2 tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Analyses were undertaken using SPSS version 19.0.

resultsBoth cellphones and cordless phones were used by approximately 90% of students. A third of participants had already used a cordless phone for ≥ 7 years. In 4 years from the survey to mid-2013, the cordless phone use of 6% of participants would equal that of the highest Interphone decile (≥ 1640 hours), at the surveyed rate of use. High cellphone use was related to cellphone location at night, being woken regularly, and being tired at school. More than a third of parents thought cellphones carried a moderate-to-high health risk for their child.

conclusionsWhile cellphones were very popular for entertainment and social interaction via texting, cordless phones were most popular for calls. If their use continued at the reported rate, many would be at increased risk of specific brain tumours by their mid-teens, based on findings of the Interphone and Hardell-group studies.

Indexed as

Cell PhoneAdolescentBrain NeoplasmsChildCross-Sectional StudiesElectromagnetic FieldsFemaleHumansMaleNew ZealandSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID23302218
PMCPMC3564734
OpenAlexW2100268166

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.