New research published today suggests heavy phone usage in rural areas can increase a caller's risk of developing tumors. The risk increased when users kept the phone close to one ear and did not use hands free devices.
Of the 1,266 people studied, those who talked on their cell phones for more than 22 hours a month were at 50 percent higher risk of developing tumors in their salivary glands, also called parotid gland tumors.
This may be cause for ringing an alarm considering worldwide mobile subscriptions have reached 3.3 billion.
For several years, a slew of international studies dubbed INTERPHONE have been collecting information on the health of cell phone users. The research is backed by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The goal of INTERPHONE is to lead an "international study of the relation between mobile telephone use and brain cancer risk is feasible and informative: the past prevalence of mobile telephone use and the expected number of cases are adequate to detect a 1.5 fold increase in risk five to 10 years from beginning of use, if it exists."
According to the study published today, under certain conditions, cell phone users are at risk for developing parotid gland tumors.
via PhysOrg
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