Exposure to mobile phones may cause behavioural problems in children

Exposure to mobile phones may be responsible for the development of behavioural problems in children.

The health problems may even have started during a mother’s pregnancy, according to new medical research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Researchers base these revelations on information taken from around 100,000 pregnant women between 1996 and 2002.

The women who were taking part in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) study all disclosed detailed information about their lifestyle.

When their children reached the age of seven, the mothers were questioned again about both their own and their children’s health.

Findings showed that children who were exposed to mobile phones during pregnancy and after birth, were 50 per cent more likely to have ‘abnormal behaviour’.

Children exposed only during pregnancy were only 40 per cent more likely to have behavioural problems, whilst those who were not exposed during pregnancy but used them personally by the age of seven were 20 per cent more likely to have behavioural issues.

The researchers say:  “Although it is premature to interpret these results as causal, we are concerned that early exposure to cell phones could carry a risk, which, if real, would be of public health concern given the widespread use of this technology.”