Copenhagen (Denmark) – Mobile phone usage during pregnancy could cause kids to develop behavioral problems, according to a joint study by UCLA and Aarhus Denmark.  Mothers who used their phones as little as two to three times a day had a greatly increased risk of having children with psychological problems including hyperactivity and anti-social conduct, but the study doesn’t nail down mobile phone radiation as the specific cause.

Researchers interviewed 13159 Danish children who were born in the late 1990s.  Approximately half of the group had mothers who used mobile phones infrequently, while the other half did not use mobile phones at all.  The researchers found that just two to three daily uses of the mobile phone during pregnancy increased the child’s chance of developing problems by 54%.  This percentage grew to a whopping 80% if the children themselves used mobile phones while growing up.

Of the children who develop problems, the breakdown of specific problems is as follows: 25% emotional problems, 34% difficulty relating to peers, 35% hyperactive and 49% problems with conduct.  It’s obvious by the percentages that many children had multiple behavioral problems.

The researchers do point out that they did not measure radiation levels and that the mere act of using the phones could be leaving a negative impression on the children.  It's logical to infere that mothers who used phones during pregnancy would continue talking on their phones after giving birth.  And when you're talking on the phone, you are concentrating on the conversation rather than that cute bundle of joy sitting next to you.  I mean how would you feel if your mom was constantly yakking on a phone?

The study will be published in the July edition of the journal Epidemiology.

not radiation, just poor parenting

May 19, 2008 10:19     

"It's logical to infere that mothers who used phones during pregnancy would continue talking on their phones after giving birth." This comment hits the nail on the head.
Joe Sutherland report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +8

Wow..

May 19, 2008 10:20     

The following generations will all be anti-social and hyperactive thugs it seems :D
Phil report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +4

This kind of study is really misleading. Why there ...

May 19, 2008 10:31     

This kind of study is really misleading. Why there must be negative effects but not positive effects? Why have such perception before even the study started?
PoorGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

competeing with the phone?

May 19, 2008 12:53     

Perhaps it is not the phone itself that is causing problems but the children misbehaving in an effort to compete for the attention of the mother who is on the cell phone(?).
TomLeeM/BigWarpGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

by association.

May 19, 2008 13:58     

the whole generation of mothers are on cell phone at least three times a day. However at the same time other stuff are going on around them that is not a constant...like the air they are breathing has more chemicals, more radiation from the sun...etc..etc... if you can't isolate the cause, it's just a guess. it could be a million things that is causing the difference. May be just the group they had has a few crazy kids or moms. I hate poeple doing stupid studies just to get on the news.

wow report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

60% of statisics are made up... 80% of the time

May 19, 2008 15:02     

Did anti-social, hyperactive thugs not exist prior to the invention of the cell phone?
Henrik Gustavsson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

real study

May 19, 2008 15:04     

Here is a really study. 7 out of 10 researchers that publish Studies have delinquent children.
Pete report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Not just this study.,.

May 19, 2008 15:15     

...but nearly all long term studies suffer mightily from being unable to isolate variables. However, poor parenting is probably more to blame here than anything else. They should also look at how much "TV as a babysitter" was going on with this same group. The biggest problem here is that preliminary research is getting picked up and carried to a larger outlet. This particular study is one whose goal should be "is it worthwhile to investigate this further" rather then getting picked up by the news as a conclusion. That said, the story does in fact say "could". "Antisocial behavior" may be more the fact that basic courtesy and etiquette are absent these days, including in adults. I'd say I'm just turning into a geezer except I don't simply say "kids these days", but "people these days"

Jim L report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

What Matters

May 19, 2008 16:38     

What matters in studies like this is the statistical significance of the difference between the groups versus random chance. Just because cell phones are not directly nailed as the cause of the problems does not mean that the study is invalid. Nor does it mean that there is no direct link. It just means that what was stated in the headline is true - cell phone using mothers are more likely to have children with problems than are mothers who don't use them. Any statement beyond that, such as about the causal relationships, is just speculation.

Marty report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

reminds me of...

May 19, 2008 16:45     

last year I think it was there was an article about people who are 'electromagnetically sensitive' and complaining that they could painfully feel when a cell phone was communicating with a tower. That was based in england I believe. Anywho, why not blame bad kids on bad parents? breakdown in the 'nuclear family'? Living in Europe (j/k)? Really cell phones are just like any other technology: It is a mechanical advantage which allows us to do more of what we would allready be doing anyways. Crappy people become crappier people, and good people become better people. Why cant people learn to be better people, learn to use the tools to their advantage, and become amazing peole?

Caeden report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

that's not a cause study

May 19, 2008 16:47     

People should be careful and should know the basics about scientific methods and research. This is a comparative correlative study - wich means that what they found has nothing to do with what you said: 1. correlation doesn't mean anything, the cause can be who-knows-what 2. correlation must be significant and valid, the results must be similar in different populations ( not only in Denmark, but say in Japan, Afganistany anywhere ) 3. this study is not determining the CAUSE of what they measured only what phenomenon is followed with other phenomenons ( say hight and weight --> your height doesn't determine your weight, you can still be 2,15 cm toll and have 40 killos: a) height doesn't cause weight and b) weight doesn't cause height ) So.. be careful, and as for news writers, they should have huge and wide knowledge and understanding of what they are: - writing and commenting and how they do it..

Niko report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

I call Bullshit

May 19, 2008 18:30     

BS, I'm not the only one thinking it.
Conner report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

The problem is not the study

May 20, 2008 03:03     

As some already said: the problem is not the study (the numbers are what they are), the problem is the interpretations that go beyond the data. And also: it's not because you don't like the outcome of a study, that it therefore must be BS :)
knowitall report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

This may not be a bad thing.

May 20, 2008 09:38     

Kids with moms that use cell phones may grow up to be more aggressive than those who's moms just sit at home baking cookies. The world needs more high risk kids. Some of them will be mass murderers. Others will rewrite the world. The kids that learn to play by the rules need to learn to say, "Welcome to Walmart."
Ralf The Dog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

What idiots

May 20, 2008 16:59     

You get more radiation from cell towers broadcasting ALL DAY near your than you do with a 0.6 watt cell phone in your hand. People don't seem to mind the 5.0 watt "family" radios, 50000 watt TV / radio broadcasts, 1500 watt microwave ovens, etc. Heck - Bananas are radioactive :)
cruzinmy64 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

re: What idiots

May 20, 2008 17:39     

No one here (or in the study) thinks it is radiation from the cell phones that causes the kids to run around ripping peoples throats open with their teeth. It is either self selection (Mothers who like to yack on cell phones are more likely to be homicidal [Just like people who have 666 tattooed to there forehead don't choose to join the garden club.]) or the cell phone behavior continues long after the kid is born, and the little terrorists hear all the nice four letter words mommy uses every time she losses connection. Cell yackers could spend less time reading to their kids. Kids of cell yackers could develop better vocabularies, and the aggression is just a sign of intelligence. It may have something to do with space marmots. The correlation exists, however the correlation may not be causation. Even if it is causation, the causation does not have to be radiation.

Ralf The Dog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

really?

May 23, 2008 03:27     

terrible
real report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

So what caused it before cell phones?

May 25, 2008 13:26     

anti-social thugs have been around as long as humans have been. What was the excuse before cell phones? I file this one under "give me a break"
Narg report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0