Children whose mothers used cellphones frequently during pregnancy and who are themselves cellphone users are more likely to have behaviour problems, says new study.
The finding "points in a direction where further research is needed," Dr Leeka Kheifets of the UCLA School of Public Health, who helped conduct the study, said.
"It's a wonderful technology and people are certainly going to be using it more and more," she added. "We need to be looking into what are the potential health effects and what are ways to reduce risks should there be any."
Kheifets and her team looked at a group of 13 159 children whose mothers had been recruited to participate in the Danish National Birth Cohort study early in their pregnancies. When the children reached age seven, mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire about their children's behaviour and health, as well as the mother's own cellphone use in pregnancy and the child's use of cellphones.
After the researchers adjusted for factors that could influence the results, such as a mother's psychiatric problems and socio-economic factors, children with both prenatal and postnatal cellphone exposure were 80 percent more likely to have abnormal or borderline scores on tests evaluating emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, or problems with peers.
Kheifets and her team note that a foetus's exposure to radio-frequency fields by a mother's cellphone use may be small, study has shown that children using cellphones are exposed to more radio frequency energy than adults since their ears and brains are smaller. - Reuters