London, April 23 (ANI): A study on thousands of people is to be carried out over the course of 20 or 30 years to determine if there is an increased risk of developing brain tumours and other medical disorders with long-term use of mobile phones.
The multi-million-pound Cohort Study on Mobile Communications (Cosmos) will monitor at least 250,000 mobile phone users in a bid to settle the debate once and for all on whether there are any serious health risks from using the devices.
Previous studies had been carried out on people who had already developed the illnesses, which led to suggestions that they suffered from an inherent "recall" bias.
Cosmos on the other hand will pick up diseases and symptoms as they arise and changes in people's health will be compared with their usage of mobile phones, taking into account both the number and duration of calls and the positioning of handsets.
Volunteers taking part in the study will be aged 18 to 69 and recruited through co-operating network operators.
Between 90,000 and 100,000 people are expected to participate in the UK, with others joining from Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.
The total cost of the study for the first five years is estimated at 5-7 million pounds. The UK arm alone will cost 3.1million pounds, jointly funded by the Government and industry.
Dr Mireille Toledano, one of the principal investigators from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said that Cosmos is the largest study of its kind to date and has the power to detect illnesses linked to mobile phone radiation or usage.
"Previous studies have looked at usage for less than 10 years and focused mainly on retrospective use," the Independent quoted Dr Toledano as saying.
"They've had a short observation period from the start and only been able to focus on brain cancers.
"We'll be prospectively monitoring mobile phone use and prospectively looking at any health developments," Dr Toledano added.
The scientists will be analysing trends for brain, head and neck cancers, but also multiple sclerosis and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Motor Neurone Disease, as well as strokes and heart conditions.
They will be watching out for less serious problems such as sleep disorders, headaches, tinnitus and depression.
Data on fertility will not be included since this is one aspect of health that does not lend itself to a long-term prospective study.
Findings will be released at periodic intervals. A report focusing on cancer will be published after 10 years. (ANI)
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