EMF from cellphones causes high blood pressure: study

Discussion in 'Physics & Math' started by SarahEllard, May 10, 2023.

  1. SarahEllard Registered Member

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    https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Pr...ed-with-increased-risk-of-high-blood-pressure

    https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/mobile-phones-hypertension/#:~:text=“Years of use or employing,risk of developing blood pressure.

    “Years of use or employing a hands-free set-up had no influence on the likelihood of developing high blood pressure.” The more time participants spent talking on the phone, the higher their risk of developing blood pressure.

    Copy and pasted from European Society of Cardiology:

    ''Almost three-quarters of the global population aged 10 and over own a mobile phone.2 Nearly 1.3 billion adults aged 30 to 79 years worldwide have high blood pressure (hypertension).3 Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke and a leading cause of premature death globally. Mobile phones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy, which has been linked with rises in blood pressure after short-term exposure. Results of previous studies on mobile phone use and blood pressure were inconsistent, potentially because they included calls, texts, gaming, and so on.''
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2023
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  3. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Talking to my relatives raises my blood pressure too.
     
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  5. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    Unsurprising, as stress can lead to high blood pressure.
     
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  7. SarahEllard Registered Member

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    "Years of use or employing a hands-free set-up had no influence on the likelihood of developing high blood pressure." The more time participants spent talking on the phone, the higher their risk of developing blood pressure.''

    Using a hands free set up for years did not cause an increase in blood pressure, but when they were using a phone normally (ie, holding the phone up to their head, or close to it), there was an increase in risk of high blood pressure.

    So the issue causing the high blood pressure does not seem to be a result of stress but as a result of exposure to low-frequency radiofrequency fields from phones, as the European Society of Cardiology suggested. When you use a hands-free set up, the exposure to these radiofrequency fields is lower.
     
  8. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    21,644
    Yep. People who try to juggle driving and holding a cellphone to their ear have higher levels of stress - and can even get ticketed for it, which will definitely raise your blood pressure.
    Hands free setups emit the same sort of RF fields.
     
    SarahEllard likes this.
  9. SarahEllard Registered Member

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    Didn't think of it that way, that makes a lot of sense.
     
  10. C C Consular Corps - "the backbone of diplomacy" Valued Senior Member

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    EXCERPT:

    "Because the study is observational, it can’t establish cause – it could be that people who use mobile phones more have other lifestyle factors that increase their blood pressure, like high-stress jobs.

    But the researchers do suggest three possible reasons for their results: the link between increased mobile phone use and worse mental health, the possibility of RF radiation causing health problems, and the act of holding a phone to the ear – although they think the last is unlikely, since they could still see higher hypertension in people who used hands-free sets.

    The researchers also point out in their paper that their sample isn’t representative of the wider population, being “predominantly White middle-aged or older adults and healthier than the UK general population”.

    “More studies are needed to confirm the findings,” emphasises Qin.
    "​

    Additionally, this is the unreliable territory of the "human sciences" (social and biomedical disciplines, etc) where there's a lot of "publish or perish" pressure and replication problems, ideology intrusions (various invalid science issues).

    Even if the case (RF wise) in some sense or another, health concerns aren't going to mitigate the population's addiction and dependency, and love, of mobile devices. They're part of the culture now, akin to Russians giving up Vodka.

    Industry-funded counter studies would defensively arise that interpreted data with a different set of motivated heuristics. And similar to greenwashing, tech companies could even opportunistically seize on the latest virtue trend to promote phones that supposedly were BP safe.
    _
     
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  11. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    The European Society of Cardiology has not suggested a link. They have simply published some research. They are not endorsing it. This is the same blunder you made (accidentally or more probably deliberately) on the UFO topic, where you also suggested a degree of endorsement (by the US Navy in that case) that was untrue.

    As for the study, I find it deeply underwhelming. The alleged difference was a princely 7%. I am not willing to give this much credence without either a lot more studies, showing a higher correlation, or else some mechanism to account for how hand-held mobile phones can influence blood pressure. Statistical studies can be useful to identify possible influences, but you need research to find a mechanism before you can be sure there is any real connection.
     
  12. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    In re thread title, "EMF from cellphones causes high blood pressure: study", I do not think the offered literature supports this statement.

    The assertion of causality is what is in doubt.

    Here is a funny line from the Cosmos magazine article:

    Because the study is observational, it can't establish cause – it could be that people who use mobile phones more have other lifestyle factors that increase their blood pressure, like high-stress jobs.

    But the researchers do suggest three possible reasons for their results: the link between increased mobile phone use and worse mental health, the possibility of RF radiation causing health problems, and the act of holding a phone to the ear – although they think the last is unlikely, since they could still see higher hypertension in people who used hands-free sets.

    There are two things to note, there: First, the study "can't establish cause". Right there, the thread title is contradicted.

    But look at what the researchers suggest, and consider the three possible reasons. Radiation? Unlikely compared to how the radiation discussion has gone over the course of decades. The act of holding a phone? Sure, even the researchers think it's unlikely, but think about how particular that is. And then think about "the link between increased mobile phone use and worse mental health". That broad category is the leading "possible reason" for the link between mobile phones and hypertension.

    Hypertension associated with mobile phone use is most likely related to user behavior. "The link between increased mobile phone use and worse mental health" is a question, not an answer. Anecdotally, sure, my phone raises my blood pressure, and in more ways than I can count. "The link between increased mobile phone use and worse mental health" is far too broad to be of any use.

    The release from the European Society of Cardiology↱ also does not support the EMF claim in the thread title. The constraint in device usage to actually talking on the phone has its place in the scientific discussion, compared to other aspects of phone use might also contribute to hypertension. However, what are those phone calls? How is the content and conduct of those phone calls accounted? If I'm arguing with a creditor, that will raise my blood pressure. Stressful calls with a relative can raise blood pressure, and so can otherwise calm-sounding discussions. In the end, the behavioral values describing how we use our phones will tell us more about device relationships with hypertension.

    And thirty minutes in a week? I don't know quite how to put that question, but it's important to assessing phone use conduct. For me, thirty minutes a week would between one and twenty calls, and virtually none of those conversations would be stress-free. I can't tell you, for instance, how all those British people use their phones, but I can certainly recall the time Crowley took down the phone network at lunchtime, and why. The stress of phone conversations is not a new phenomenon.

    The study itself↱ does consider EMFs, but they are not mentioned in the abstract. And it is important to observe that the brief discussion of EMFs in the Introduction and Discussion sections of the study do not support the statement that "EMF from cellphones causes high blood pressure". The Discussion considers "some previous studies", and observes, "the biological mechanisms underlying the positive association between time spent making or receiving calls on a mobile phone and the risk of hypertension still need to be further elucidated". The Introduction is much more clear, despite describing EMFs as a "gap in knowledge".

    Thus, the suggestion in #4↑, that "the issue causing the high blood pressure does not seem to be a result of stress but as a result of exposure to low-frequency radiofrequency fields from phones, as the European Society of Cardiology suggested", is false. While the role of stress in hypertension is well-established in general, it is not well quantified in this particular question. However, the assertion of "low-frequency radiofrequency fields from phones" as a cause is not supported by the paper, and attributing that finding to the European Society of Cardiology is a misrepresentation.

    The more direct statement that "EMF from cellphones causes high blood pressure" is not supported by journal article, nor the European Society of Cardiology press release; the Cosmos article explicitly states the observational study "can't establish cause".

    This is not any groundbreaking study; it looks more like a necessary waypoint in a larger scientific process. Professor Qin, for instance, explaining that, ceteris paribus, "it seems prudent to keep mobile phone calls to a minimum to preserve heart health", is fine advice, but hardly dramatic, and certainly not groundbreaking.

    But the difference between the title claim and what the cited literature says stands out, while the study underlying those discussions considers the point a gap in knowledge that is not resolved in the journal paper.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    ESC Press Office. "Mobile phone calls linked with increased risk of high blood pressure". Press Release. European Society of Cardiology. 5 May 2023. ESCardio.org. 10 May 2023. https://bit.ly/3O0x7Dw

    Phiddian, Ellen. "Mobile phones and hypertension: new study suggests there’s a link". Cosmos. 9 May 2023. CosmosMagazine.com. 10 May 2023. https://bit.ly/44Px835

    Ye, Ziliang, Yanjun Zhang, et al. "Mobile phone calls, genetic susceptibility, and new-onset hypertension: results from 212 046 UK Biobank participants". European Heart Journal — Digital Health. 4 May 2023. Academic.OUP.com. 10 May 2023. https://bit.ly/3NZ36DV
     
  13. candy Valued Senior Member

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    1,074
    Is my low blood pressure a result of my not having the phone with me at all times?
    Who knew the cure could be so simple?
     

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