Epidemiology – Mobile Phone Use and Incidence of Glioma in the Nordic Countries 1979–2008: Consistency Check

Some case-control studies have reported increased risk of glioma associated with mobile phone use. These increased risks would ultimately result in increased incidence rates of glioma over time, after a certain lag or induction period following the introduction of mobile phones. This study analyzed annual age standardized incidence rates of glioma in men and women aged 20 to 79 years in the Nordic countries from 1979-2008.

 No clear trend change was observed in the incidence rates of glioma in the adult population of the Nordic countries during this period. Some of the higher risk increases reported in case-control studies appear to be incompatible with the observed lack of incidence rate increase in middle-aged men, even when considering exposures and induction periods of up to 15 years, suggesting that biases and errors in the self-reported use of mobile phone may have distorted some of the findings. The results of this study are consistent with either the absence of any association between mobile phone use and glioma risk, with lower risks than reported from some case-control studies, or with longer induction periods than currently investigated.

I Deltour, A Auvinen, M Feychting, C Johansen, L Klaeboe, R Sankila, J Schüz
Epidemiology, Published Ahead-of-Print - Last Updated: January 13, 2012, doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e3182448295Read more