The association of cell phone use during pregnancy and during early childhood with behavioral problems in children was investigated in a cohort study in Denmark.
Behavioral problems in 7-year old children were assessed using the Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire. Prenatal exposure was defined as the use of a cellular phone by the mother during the pregnancy, postnatal exposure was defined as the current use of cell phones by the children.
| Group | Description |
|---|---|
| Reference group 1 | no prenatal exposure |
| Group 2 | prenatal exposure |
| Reference group 3 | no postnatal exposure |
| Group 4 | postnatal exposure |
| Reference group 5 | no prenatal and postnatal exposure |
| Group 6 | prenatal and postnatal exposure |
| Reference group 7 | prenatal exposure, times spoken per day: 0 - 1 |
| Group 8 | prenatal exposure, times spoken per day: 2 - 3 |
| Group 9 | prenatal exposure, times spoken per day: ≥ 4 |
| Reference group 10 | prenatal exposure, percentage of time turned on: 0 |
| Group 11 | prenatal exposure, percentage of time turned on: < 50 |
| Group 12 | prenatal exposure, percentage of time turned on: 50 - 99 |
| Group 13 | prenatal exposure, percentage of time turned on: 100 |
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| Participants | 13,159 |
| Participation rate | 65 % |
About 11 % of the children were prenatally and postnatally exposed to cell phones whereas nearly half of the children had neither prenatal nor postnatal exposure. About 90 % of the children were reported to have no behavioral problems.
Prenatal and postnatal exposure to cell phones was associated with overall behavioral problems in children (OR 1.80; CI 1.45-2.23). The authors concluded that these results should be interpreted with caution. The observed association are not necessarily causal and may be due to factors not investigated in this study.
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