Skip to content

Hold the phone, Central! Cellphone radiation can cause cancer: study

Cell phone-induced health problems could take decades to develop.
David Paul Morris/Getty Images
Cell phone-induced health problems could take decades to develop.
Author
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

The scientists were right — your cell phone can give you cancer.

There have long been whispers of a cancer connection from your cell — and a new study backs up the claims.

“These data are a clear sign of the real risks this kind of radiation poses for human health,” study author Igor Yakymenko said.

CELLPHONE OWNERS WOULD ABANDON THEIR CATS OVER THEIR SMARTPHONES IN A FIRE: SURVEY

Yakymenko’s meta-study — basically a study of hundreds of other studies — reveals many findings of previous researchers into how radiofrequency from your phone can damage DNA.

That damage can add up over time and cause a variety of health problems, like cancer, headaches, fatigue and even skin problems.

For example, using your phone for just 20 minutes a day for five years increased the risk of one type of brain tumor threefold, and using the phone an hour a day for four years upped the risk of some tumors three to five times, Yakymenko said.

Cell phone-induced health problems could take decades to develop.
Cell phone-induced health problems could take decades to develop.

MICROWAVING FOOD IN PLASTIC LINKED TO DIABETES, OTHER PROBLEMS: STUDY

But even though the risk of brain and related cancers is low — in 2012, there were 6.4 cases per 100,000 U.S. adults — Yakymenko says we should be on alert because ailments can take up to 30 years to develop.

“(Our) data were obtained on adults who used cell phones mostly up to 10 years as adults,” he said. “The situation can dramatically differ for children who use cells phone in childhood, when their biology much more sensitive to hazardous factors, and will use it over the life.”

To minimize your risk, use your phone less and go hands-free to keep the frequency away from your head, Yakymenko said.

ON A MOBILE DEVICE? WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

mengel@nydailynews.com