TY - JOUR
T1 - Childhood brain tumours and use of mobile phones
T2 - comparison of a case-control study with incidence data
AU - Aydin, Denis
AU - Feychting, Maria
AU - Schüz, Joachim
AU - Röösli, Martin
AU - CEFALO study team
A2 - Johansen, Christoffer
PY - 2012/5/20
Y1 - 2012/5/20
N2 - The first case-control study on mobile phone use and brain tumour risk among children and adolescents (CEFALO study) has recently been published. In a commentary published in Environmental Health, Söderqvist and colleagues argued that CEFALO suggests an increased brain tumour risk in relation to wireless phone use. In this article, we respond and show why consistency checks of case-control study results with observed time trends of incidence rates are essential, given the well described limitations of case-control studies and the steep increase of mobile phone use among children and adolescents during the last decade. There is no plausible explanation of how a notably increased risk from use of wireless phones would correspond to the relatively stable incidence time trends for brain tumours among children and adolescents observed in the Nordic countries. Nevertheless, an increased risk restricted to heavy mobile phone use, to very early life exposure, or to rare subtypes of brain tumours may be compatible with stable incidence trends at this time and thus further monitoring of childhood brain tumour incidence rate time trends is warranted.
AB - The first case-control study on mobile phone use and brain tumour risk among children and adolescents (CEFALO study) has recently been published. In a commentary published in Environmental Health, Söderqvist and colleagues argued that CEFALO suggests an increased brain tumour risk in relation to wireless phone use. In this article, we respond and show why consistency checks of case-control study results with observed time trends of incidence rates are essential, given the well described limitations of case-control studies and the steep increase of mobile phone use among children and adolescents during the last decade. There is no plausible explanation of how a notably increased risk from use of wireless phones would correspond to the relatively stable incidence time trends for brain tumours among children and adolescents observed in the Nordic countries. Nevertheless, an increased risk restricted to heavy mobile phone use, to very early life exposure, or to rare subtypes of brain tumours may be compatible with stable incidence trends at this time and thus further monitoring of childhood brain tumour incidence rate time trends is warranted.
KW - Brain Neoplasms/epidemiology
KW - Cell Phone
KW - Electromagnetic Fields/adverse effects
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
U2 - 10.1186/1476-069X-11-35
DO - 10.1186/1476-069X-11-35
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 22607537
SN - 1476-069X
VL - 11
SP - 35
JO - Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source
JF - Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source
ER -