Abstract

Overview

Investigating the impact of cell phone usage on the appearance of micronuclei in cells of the oral mucosa, this study contributes to understanding the potential carcinogenic effects tied to prolonged mobile phone exposure.

Background

• Concerns exist about the prolonged exposure of cell phone users to harmful, potentially carcinogenic waves.

Methods

• A descriptive study examined selected patients at the Islamic Azad University Faculty of Dentistry who use cell phones, following strict inclusion and exclusion criteria.
• Researchers utilized the Papanicolaou staining method for mucosal smears, recorded the frequency of micronucleus-containing cells and frequency of micronucleus per cell, and analyzed these in correlation to the daily cell phone usage using Pearson correlation coefficients and regression analysis.

Findings

• The study found a frequency of micronucleus containing cells at 2.94% ± 1.89%, and micronucleus per cell at 1.02% ± 1.68%.
• Significant correlations were found between the amount of cell phone usage and both the frequency of micronucleus containing cells (r = 0.70, P = 0.0001) and the frequency of micronucleus per cell (r = 0.57, P = 0.0001).
• Age and sex did not show significant correlations with the frequencies of micronucleus containing cells or micronucleus per cell.

Conclusion

The study evidences a strong and significant correlation between increased cell phone use and greater frequency of micronuclei in the buccal mucosa, indicating potential health risks linked to electromagnetic fields from cell phones.