Frequent mobile phone usage linked to cardiovascular diseases


An investigative study into the regular use of mobile phones and its health implications has shown a risky relationship between heart diseases, which can be attributed to poor sleep, psychological distress, and neuroticism amongst other modifiable lifestyle factors.
  
The article published by Elsevier in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology found current smokers and individuals with diabetes at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases due to regular mobile phone usage.
   
Using one call per week as the definition of regular mobile phone usage, the study included 444,027 individuals from the UK Bio-bank without a history of cardiovascular diseases who self-reported the frequency of their mobile phone use from 2006 to 2010.
   
The researchers linked hospital and mortality records, the composite outcome of incident stroke, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure to ascertain over a median follow-up time of 12.3 years. Researchers also investigated the role of sleep patterns, psychological distress, and neuroticism.
  
The Managing Director, Nanfang Hospital Nephrology Division, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou China, Yanjun Zhang, explained that mobile phone use is a ubiquitous exposure in modern society and so exploring its impact on health has significant public health value.
  
Zhang remarked that Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile phones cause dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inflammatory responses, and oxidative stress, and are expected to affect a variety of organs such as the heart and blood vessels.
   
He, however, noted that whether mobile phone use is associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases remains uncertain.
Co-investigator, Ziliang Ye, said the study aimed to assess the prospective association of regular mobile phone use with incident cardiovascular diseases and explore the mediating effects of sleep and mental health.    
  
“We found that compared with non-regular mobile phone users, regular mobile phone users had a significantly higher risk of incident cardiovascular diseases,” he said.
  
Co-investigator Xianhui Qin, said the group found that sleep patterns, psychological distress, and neuroticism may be potential mechanisms of the association between mobile phone use and cardiovascular diseases.
  
Qin emphasised that a poor sleep pattern and poor mental health may adversely affect the development of cardiovascular diseases through disrupted circadian rhythm, endocrine and metabolic disruption, and increased inflammation.
  
“Chronic exposure to RF-EMF radiation emitted from mobile phones could lead to oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Therefore, RF-EMF radiation exposure from mobile phones in combination with smoking and diabetes may have a synergistic effect in increasing cardiovascular disease risk.”
   
Co-author of the editorial, Nicholas Grubic, noted that while the current study suggests that using a mobile phone may moderately increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, more conclusive evidence with valid measurements of mobile phone use is needed before this association becomes a concern for the public.  
   
“Maintaining responsible mobile phone habits should be a valuable component of an all-encompassing approach to supporting cardiovascular health. Before diving into hours of mindless ‘doom-scrolling’ on your smartphone today, consider redirecting this time toward a more heart-healthy activity,” he added.

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