Is human saliva an indicator of the adverse health effects of using mobile phones?
Increasing use of mobile phones creates growing concerns regarding harmful effects of radiofrequency nonionizing electromagnetic radiation on human tissues located close to the ear, where phones are commonly held for long periods of time. We studied 20 subjects in the mobile-phone group who had a mean duration of mobile phone use of 12.5 years (range 8-15) and a mean time use of 29.6 h per month (range 8-100). Deaf individuals served as controls. We compared salivary outcomes (secretion, oxidative damage indices, flow rate, and composition) between mobile phone users and nonusers. We report a significant increase in all salivary oxidative stress indices studied in mobile phone users. Salivary flow, total protein, albumin, and amylase activity were decreased in mobile phone users. These observations lead to the hypothesis that the use of mobile phones may cause oxidative stress and modify salivary function.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Petah Tiqva and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Rabin Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Yaniv
Y
Hamzany
Raphael
R
Feinmesser
Thomas
T
Shpitzer
Aviram
A
Mizrachi
Ohad
O
Hilly
Roy
R
Hod
Gideon
G
Bahar
Irina
I
Otradnov
Moshe
M
Gavish
Rafael M
RM
Nagler
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000681:Amylases / Q000032:analysis; D040421:Cell Phone; D060733:Electromagnetic Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000528:radiation effects*; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*
D011506:Proteins; D000681:Amylases