High Oxidative Stress Levels in Heavy Cell Phone Users, Cancer Risk

First Posted: Jul 29, 2013 12:54 PM EDT
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Whether it's in the car, walking to the mall or playing tetris, American's simply cannot live without their cell phones. In fact, statistics show that nearly 83 percent of Americans own a cell phone and that object has become a ubiquitous part of daily life.

Unfortunately a new study shows this may not be such a good thing. In fact, according to researchers at Tel Aviv University, cell phone use may have the potential to actually cause cancer.

Dr. Yaniv Hamzany of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department at the Rabin Medical Center looked for clues in the saliva samples of cell phone users to test this theory. He believed that as a cell phone is placed close to the salivary gland, saliva might reveal whether there was a connection to cancer development.

Those who more regularly used their cell phone had higher oxidative stress levels--a process that damages aspects of the human cell, including DNA through the development of toxic peroxide and free radicals, according to background information via the study. Hamzany notes that this can be a major risk factor for the development of cancer.

Besides possibly causing cancer, cell phones have also been known to cause fatal automobile accidents. For instance, texting or talking and driving can cause a distracted driver to miss what's going on, taking his or her eyes off the road, off the wheel or even forgetting he or she is driving all together.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010, and the numbers seem to just keep increasing.

As fun and convenient as cell phones seem to be, they can also be quite dangerous. Make sure to use them safely and in moderation.

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling

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