- Mobiles increase risk of behavioural problems - study
- Researchers say radiation may not be the cause
- Health & Lifestyle: more stories
PREGNANT women who regularly use mobile phones are more likely to have children with behavioural problems, according to a new study.
Mothers who used their mobile phone while pregnant were 54 per cent more likely to report issues such as hyperactivity and emotional problems in their children, Britain`s Daily Mail reported.
Using a mobile two to three times a day was enough to raise the risk, and letting children under the age of seven use a mobile phone also put them in danger, the study of more than 13,000 women found.
The results were thought to be particularly significant as one of the study`s authors had been a leading sceptic over claims mobile phones were a health risk.
Professor Leeka Kheifets of the University of California had previously written there was no proof of "any adverse health effect".
But she and her three co-authors concluded there did appear to be an association between mobile phone exposure and behavioural problems.
However, they said radiation may not be the cause.
The researchers said there may be other possible explanations for the rise in behavioural problems, including that mothers who were frequently on the phone through pregnancy might continue the pattern after birth, spending less time with their babies.
The study follows a finding by the official Russian radiation watchdog that the danger posed by mobile phones is "not much lower than the risk to children`s health from tobacco or alcohol".
The UK`s Health Protection Agency said the study`s findings were unexpected and highlighted the need for caution over mobiles. But it stopped short of telling pregnant women not to use them.
"Its findings need to be investigated thoroughly. There may be another cause for the effect observed," a spokesman said.
Read the full story at Daily Mail.
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