Abstract

Overview

This study investigates the time trends in glioma incidence rates (IR) among adults aged 20-84 in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden from 1979 to 2016, using national cancer registries and population data. It analyses how these trends could inform potential risks associated with mobile phone use.

Methods

• Age-standardized IR of glioma analyzed using log-linear joinpoint analysis.
• Exposure data from self-reported information in the Nordic Interphone, Cosmos-Denmark, and Cosmos-France datasets.
• Various hypothetical mobile phone risk scenarios considered and compared with observed data.

Findings

• Comparison of projected incidence rates under different risk scenarios with observed rates to gauge their plausibility.
• Overall increase in glioma rates particularly in older age groups, with minimal evidence supporting compatibility of heavy mobile phone use with observed glioma cases.
• Most modeled scenarios, especially those suggesting notable risk increases, found implausible when compared with actual data.

Discussion

Despite some limitations related to exposure information and assumptions in the model, the study reinforces that at a population level the risks associated with mobile phone use in relation to glioma are either non-existent or extremely low. These findings align with previous studies suggesting minimal detectable effects of mobile phones on glioma incidence.

Conclusion

The ecological data reviewed does not allow for the complete dismissal of all potential mobile phone related risk scenarios. However, it does indicate that if any risk exists, it is likely to be very small, manifest after long latency periods, or affect only a small subgroup within the glioma patient population.