Epidemiological study (observational study)

Mobile Phone Use and the Risk of Parotid Gland Tumors: A Retrospective Case-Control Study epidem.

By: Al-Qahtani K

Published in: Gulf J Oncolog 2016; 20: 71-78

Journal not peer-reviewed

Aim of study (acc. to author)

A case-control study was conducted in Saudi Arabia to investigate the association between mobile phone use and the risk for parotid gland tumors.

Further details

Participants who reported daily mobile phone use of 1 hour or less were classified as unexposed.

Endpoint/type of risk estimation

parotid gland tumor

Type of risk estimation:

incidence

(odds ratio (OR))

Exposure

- mobile communications
- mobile phone

Assessment

questionnaire: daily mobile phone use, years of use, preferred ear while using mobile phone and mobile phone's brand name

Exposure groups

Group	Description
Reference group 1	mobile phone use: ≤ 1 hour per day (unexposed)
Group 2	mobile phone use: > 1 hour per day
Group 3	mobile phone use: < 10 years
Group 4	mobile phone use: ≥ 10 years
Group 5	preferred ear while using mobile phone: left
Group 6	preferred ear while using mobile phone: right

Population

Group:
- men
- women
Age: ≥ 18 years
Observation period: 1996 - 2013
Study location: Saudi-Arabia

Case group

Characteristics: parotid gland tumor, histopathologically verified
Data source: tertiary hospital

Control group

patients of the same hopsital without evidence of parotid gland disease
Selection:
- hospital-based

Study size

	Cases	Controls
Eligible	34	-
Evaluable	26	61

Statistical analysis method:

unconditional logistic regression

Results (acc. to author)

Overall 18 out of 26 patients (69.2%) were exposed to daily mobile phone usage of more than 1 hour, whereas 24 out of 61 controls (39.3%) used their mobile phones more than 1 hour per day.
A statistically significant association was observed between parotid gland tumor and a daily mobile phone use of more than 1 hour compared to a daily mobile phone use of 1 hour or less (crude OR 3.47, CI 1.3-9.23; OR adjusted for age: 2.86; CI 1.03-7.97). No associations were observed for long-term use (> 10 years) and ipsilateral use.
The author concluded that an association between parotid gland tumor and mobile phone use for more than 1 hour daily in comparison to 1 hour or less per day was observed.

Limitations (acc. to author)

The findings should be interpreted with caution because of the small sample size.

Study funded by

not stated/no funding

de Siqueira EC et al. (2017): Does cell phone use increase the chances of parotid gland tumor development? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Siqueira EC et al. (2016): Cell phone use is associated with an inflammatory cytokine profile of parotid gland saliva
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