Review on health effects related to mobile phones (part I: introduction and methodology).

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to review the recent literature on the health effects of exposure to mobile phones. METHODS: The literature published in the last 10 years (2000-2010) has been reviewed. Those published in 2011 will be included in the updated review (part 2). Searches were made electronically through various search engines and health-related databases, and manually through journals, reports, and conference proceedings. The references used in the introduction of part 1 were mainly WHO reports, textbooks, and non serial publications. RESULTS: Search strategies identified a total of 772 references, with 85 finally being included in the results for 2000-2010. Nearly all types of studies were included in the review (experimental in vitro, in vivo, human provocation studies, epidemiological studies and review articles). The reported effects associated with exposure to mobile phones did not show a consistent pattern. Studies on exposure in children were very few. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the abundance of publications on the effects of mobile phones, yet, at present, there is no consistency in the scientific evidence regarding their adverse health effects. Methodological problems are mostly behind these variation. However, strong and consistent evidence was revealed by review studies including meta-analysis which indicated that driving performance was significantly impacted when drivers were concurrently talking on a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free. Continued research is recommended to address specific areas of concern, including health effects in children using mobile phones, and the relation between long-term low-level exposure to mobile phones and cancer.