ORIGINAL PAPERS

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health 2008;21(4):289 – 293

DOI 10.2478/v10001-008-0028-6

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE

MOBILE PHONE USE
MUHAMMAD MUJAHID KHAN
King Saud University, Riyadh
King Khalid University Hospital, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine

Abstract
Introduction: Research findings indicate that the use of mobile phones may lead to a number of symptoms such as head-
ache, impaired concentration and memory, and also fatigue. Materials and Methods: The present study was designed to
investigate whether the symptoms of ill health reported by young people may be associated with the use of mobile phone
(MP) and to analyze its influence on health and development of medical students. The questionnaire was designed specifi-
cally for this study and contained items regarding health condition and health complaints as well as the frequency of MP
use. The response rate was 86.6% (286 of 330 forms, completed by 73.77% males and 26.22% females). Results: Most of
the subjects (83.57%) had some knowledge about the adverse effects of MP use. 76.92% of the students carried one mobile,
and 23.08% more than one. 55.94%, of the subjects reported the average daily MP use of less than 30 min, 27.97%, of 30–60
min, 11.53%, of 60–90 min and 4.54% of more than 90 min. 16.08% of the subjects complained of headache and 24.48%
of fatigue. Impaired concentration was reported by 34.27% of respondents, memory disturbances by 40.56%, sleeplessness
by 38.8%, hearing problems by 23.07%, and facial dermatitis by 16.78%. The sensation of warmth within the auricle and
behind/around the ear was reported by 28.32%. Out of 286 subjects who participated in this study, 44.4% related their
symptoms to mobile phone use. Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicate that mobile phones play a large part
in the daily life of medical students. Therefore, its impact on psychology and health should be discussed among the students
to prevent the harmful effects of mobile phone use.

Key words:
Effects, Mobile phone, Excessive, Medical students

INTRODUCTION
There is a growing concern about the possible hazards that
electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phone (MP) pose
to human health. Mobile phones have become commonly
used throughout the world within a short period of time.
The problem of the potential health risk applies particu-
larly to young people who are the most intensive MP users.
In the present study, the target population were the medi-
cal students in Saudi Arabia. The project was undertaken
to investigate whether the symptoms of ill health reported
by young people may be associated with MP use and to
analyze its influence on their health and development. We
also assessed data on the duration and frequency of MP
use. The studies reported worldwide have tried to evaluate
a potential link between adverse health effects and mobile
phones and the broadcasting stations [1]. There are some
data suggesting that exposure from mobile phones can af-
fect the neural activity [2]. Although there is no clear evi-
dence for adverse physiological effects of electromagnetic
fields (EMF) at the levels used by mobile phones, there is
a widespread public concern that EMF may have a harm-
ful potential. As the mobile phones are usually held close
to the ear, it is appropriate to study the effects on the hear-
ing, vision, memory, concentration, sleep and other func-
tions that may be related to headache and migraine [3].
Mobile phone users often complain of a burning or heat-
ing sensation within the auricle area [4]. The increase in
temperature during MP use may be due to electric power
dissipation and radio frequency (RF) exposure [4]. Sev-
eral reports indicated that non-thermal electromagnetic

Received: February 22, 2007. Accepted: May 29, 2008.

Address reprint requests to M.M. Khan, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925.
Riyadh 11461. K.S.A. (e-mail: mujahidkhankk@hotmail.com).

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 ORIGINAL PAPERS     M.M. KHAN

radiation such as from mobile phones and base stations MATERIALS AND METHODS
may promote cancer [5]. The evolution of cellular phones A  survey using a  self-administered questionnaire was
has been one of the fastest in the history of innovation conducted among second year medical students at the
[1]. Epidemiologic, cellular and animal studies have been Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King
carried out, but none of them have reached definite con- Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The question-
clusions. Over the last decade, the usage of mobile phones naire was designed specifically for this study and con-
has dramatically increased [6]. They are now an essential tained 14 items regarding health condition and com-
part of business, commerce, and communication; how- plaints as well as the frequency of mobile phone use
ever, their use may lead to health problems. Therefore, (Tables 1 and 2). The number of questionnaires neces-
sary for the study was assessed using the simple random
the present study was designed to investigate a  link be-
tween the use of mobile phones and their adverse health Table 1. General considerations regarding mobile phone use
effects in the population of Saudi medical students. Our by medical students
goal was also to contribute to increasing social awareness Percentage of
of the health problems associated with the use of these Parameter study population
(%)
devices. Toda et al. [7] have developed a  cellular phone
No. of mobile phones carried by the students
dependence questionnaire (CPDQ) to perform a similar
1 MP 76.92
study, but their project involved only female university stu-
> 2 MPs 23.08
dents and had several limitations. These authors did not
Daily MP use
generally exclude a possibility of increased health risk due
≤ 30 min 55.94
to MP use.
30–60 min 27.97
As the medical students who carry mobile phones also
60–90 min 11.53
study and work in the hospital, these devices may have ≥ 90 min 4.54
an adverse effect on the health of the patients as well Self-rated health condition
as interfere with the highly sensitive electronic medical Very good 30.77
devices [8]. Therefore, this report presents an overview Good 62.24
of the current knowledge on the impact of radiofre- Fair 6.99
quency waves on the health of medical students in Saudi Statistical analysis performed using Z test, P < 0.0001.
Arabia. MP — mobile phone.

Table 2. Percentage of health complaints related to MP use

Daily MP use
Health complaint P
≤ 30 min 30–60 min 60–90 min ≥ 90 min
Chronic headache 5.03 24.69 39.39 30.76 < 0.0001
Impaired concentration 16.35 37.03 93.93 92.30 < 0.0001
Impaired memory 28.93 49.38 57.57 76.92 < 0.0001
Fatigue 16.35 27.16 39.39 69.23 < 0.0001
Sleeplessness 30.18 45.67 60.60 38.46 < 0.0040
Hearing problem 13.83 33.33 45.45 15.38 < 0.0010
Skin disease 0.62 14.81 75.75 76.92 < 0.0001
Warmth around the ear 6.91 40.74 78.78 84.61 < 0.0001
Relation to MP use 42.76 45.67 48.48 46.15 < 0.5400

Abbrevation as in Table 1.

290 IJOMEH 2008;21(4)

 ADVERSE EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE MOBILE PHONE USE     ORIGINAL PAPERS

sampling method. A total of 330 medical students were

invited to participate in the present study. Out of the
330 copies distributed among the students, 286 (86.6%)
were completed (73.77% by males and 26.22% by fe-
males) and were eventually subject to analysis. The
percentage of female participants is lower than that of
male participants also because in this medical college, Fig. 1. Self-rated health condition.
the number of female students in total does not reach
50% of the number of male students. The data from re-
spondents who reported health problems such as neck
trauma in a  car accident, chronic sinusitis, or arterial
hypertension, were excluded.

Statistical Analysis
Chi-square test was used for comparisons between daily
MP use and different health-related parameters. The data
were assumed to be statically significant at p < 0.05.

RESULTS
Most of the subjects (84.3%) admitted that they had some
knowledge of the harmful effects of mobile phones on
human health. 76.92% of the subjects reported carrying Fig. 2. Health complaints reported by medical students.
one mobile while 23.08% more than one. For 55.94%, the
average daily MP use was found to be less than 30 min;
for daily MP use of a longer duration (Table 2). The health
for 27.97% it ranged between 30–60 min; for 11.53% be-
problems were also compared between male and female
tween 60–90 min; and for 4.54% it lasted more than 90
students and a significant difference was observed with re-
min. 30.77% assessed their health condition as very good,
spect to some health complaints (Table 3).
62.24% as good and 6.99% as fair (Fig. 1). Most of the
subjects (83.57%) reported some symptoms of ill health: Table 3. Percentage of health complaints related to MP use, by
16.08% complained of headache, 24.48% of fatigue, and gender

34.27% of impaired concentration. Facial dermatitis was Health complaint Males Females P
reported by 16.78%. The most prevalent symptoms relat- Chronic headache 14.21 20.00 < 0.159
ed to MP use were memory disturbances (40.56%), sleep- Impaired concentration 34.12 36.00 < 0.437
lessness (38.8%) and hearing problems (23.07%). The Impaired memory 41.23 37.33 < 0.326
sensation of warmth within the auricle and behind/around Fatigue 21.80 32.00 < 0.049
the ear was reported by 28.32% (Fig. 2). 44.4% of respon- Sleeplessness 41.23 30.66 < 0.069
dents related their symptoms to MP use. The symptoms Hearing problem 21.32 28.00 < 0.154
and health complaints reported by the subjects in no case Skin disease 16.11 18.66 < 0.365
Warmth around the ear 30.80 21.33 0.077
required a medical check-up or taking any medication.
Relation to MP use 44.07 45.33 < 0.476
The different health-related parameters were compared
with the daily MP use. A significant relationship was found Abbrevation as in Table 1.

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 ORIGINAL PAPERS     M.M. KHAN
DISCUSSION
The society as a whole and especially the health pro-
fessionals should intensify health education activities
regarding the use of mobile phones. The results of this
study indicate an increased sensitivity of young stu-
dents to this kind of radiation and suggest that there
is a substantial risk for various health problems in this
population. Our findings revealed that mobile phones
play an important part in their daily life, and the impact
on psychology and health should be discussed among
the students and their parents to prevent the harmful
effects of mobile phone use. Epidemiologic, cellular
and animal studies have been carried out, but none
of them has reached definite conclusions because of
the insufficient time perspective to evaluate the effects
of the new and still evolving communication technolo-
gies [1].
In the present study, the large number of young students
complaining of health problems in general and of im-
paired concentration in particular, calls for a further re-
search to investigate the underlying reasons. Szyjkowska
et al. [9] who carried out a  similar research have con-
cluded that one cannot exclude that these health prob-
lems may be due to exposure to EMF emitted by mo-
bile phones. The explanation should be sought through
further experimental and epidemiologic studies. As long
as adverse health effects cannot be ruled out with some
degree of certainty, it seems reasonable to instruct young
students and their parents about a prudent use of mobiles
[10]. Sievert et al. [11] have denied any adverse effects
of mobile phone emissions on the body functions, at least
for a  short-term MP use. However, they could not ex-
clude a possibility of long-term effects. Some statistical
evidence points out that the use of mobiles may cause
headache, extreme irritation, increased carelessness and
forgetfulness, as well as decreased reflex and a clicking
sound in the ears [12]. As far as the medical students are
concerned, the electromagnetic waves emitted by mobiles
may interfere with various electronic medical devices in
the hospital where they have their clinical practice [8].
The analysis of the data reported by Galloni et al. [13]
292 IJOMEH 2008;21(4)
shows no statistically significant differences between the
audiological signals recorded for different study groups.
However, the present findings are inconsistent with their
results, as 23.07% of the students in our study reported
a  hearing problem of some kind and associated it with
MP use (Table 2).
It should be noted that the auditory system is the first
biological structure to be entered by the electromag-
netic fields from mobile phones. There are many animal
studies showing that electromagnetic waves have a wide
range of damaging effects on different body systems [14].
However, similar studies in humans are rather limited,
and the results of the animal studies should be inter-
preted with caution when considering their application
to humans. Large controlled studies are required before
confirming the effects of EMF on humans. In the present
study, 16.78% of the medical students suffered from skin
problems which they related to MP use (Table 2). These
data are supported by Ozguner et al. [15] who observed
histopathologic changes in the skin of EMF-exposed ani-
mals. They reported such findings as increased thickness
of the stratum corneum, atrophy of epidermis, papillao-
matosis, basal cell proliferation, increased granular cell
layer in epidermis, impairment in collagen tissue distri-
bution and separation of collagen bundles in the dermis.
As reported by Yuasa et al. [16], a 30-min daily use of MP
produced no short-term effects on the human sensory
cortex, and some data is available to support the safety
of MP use [17].
These studies, however, are limited to the short-term use
of mobiles. Most of the long-term studies conclude that
the use of MP is a health risk factor, and thus it is sug-
gested that excessive use should be avoided and social
awareness of the potential health effects be increased
through health promotion activities [18,19]. Based on the
limited studies available, there is a valid evidence for an
association between impaired well-being and exposure
to EMF from mobile phones among young people. The
findings of the present study indicate that mobile phones
play a large part in the daily life of medical students, and
therefore its impact on psychology and health should
be discussed with the students to prevent the harmful

effects of their use. One has to note, however, that this
research field is still immature with regard to the quantity
and quality of available data.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is thankful to Dr. Sultan Ayub Meo for a critical
review of the manuscript and to Mr. Amir S. Marzouk (MSc)
for the statistical analysis of data. He is also indebted to medi-
cal students: Tareq Al-Salamah, Abdulsalam Madkhali, and
Yousef Khojah from the King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA,
for their technical assistance. The author extends deep appre-
ciation to Dr. Musaed Al-Fayez, Chairman, Anatomy Depart-
ment, King Saud University, for his immense support to this
project.
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