Case-control study of the association between the use of cellular and cordless telephones and malignant brain tumors diagnosed during 2000-2003.
We performed a case-control study on the use of cellular and cordless telephones and the risk for brain tumors diagnosed during 2000-2003. We report the results for malignant brain tumors with data from 317 cases (88%) and 692 controls (84%). The use of analog cellular phones yielded odds ratio (OR) of 2.6 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.5-4.3, increasing to OR=3.5 and 95% CI=2.0-6.4 with a >10-year latency period. Regarding digital cellular telephones, the corresponding results were OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.3-2.7 and OR=3.6, 95% CI=1.7-7.5, respectively. Cordless telephones yielded OR=2.1, 95% CI=1.4-3.0, and with a >10-year latency period, OR=2.9, 95% CI=1.6-5.2. The OR increased with the cumulative number of hours of use and was highest for high-grade astrocytoma. A somewhat increased risk was also found for low-grade astrocytoma and other types of malignant brain tumors, although not significantly so. In multivariate analysis, all three phone types studied showed an increased risk.
Hardell
Lennart
L
Department of Oncology, University Hospital, SE-701 85 Orebro, Sweden.
Carlberg
Michael
M
Mild
Kjell Hansson
KH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000209:etiology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D040421:Cell Phone; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden