Effect of Cell Phone Exposure on Physiologic and Hematologic Parameters of Male Medical Students in Bijapur (Karnataka) with Reference to Serum Lipid Profile

• Published in: Journal of basic and clinical physiology and pharmacology Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 201 - 210
• Main Authors: Parkar, M.A., Ahmed, R., Abdullah, B.B., Patil, B.S., Das, K.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany De Gruyter 2010
• Subjects: Anthropometry; Blood Cell Count; Body Mass Index; Cell Phone; Cholesterol - blood; Heart Rate - physiology; Hemodynamics - physiology; Humans; India; Lipids - blood; Male; Oxygen - blood; Students, Medical; Time Factors; Triglycerides - blood; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0792-6855; 2191-0286
• DOI: 10.1515/JBCPP.2010.21.2.201

The public awareness about cell phone safety increased greatly in the last few years as various reports of potential adverse health effects on humans exposed to radiations emitted from cellular phones were published. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of long term cell phone exposure on physiological and hematological parameters along with its impact on serum lipid profiles and a single call effect on heart rate, blood pressure and SpO2(%) of healthy male medical students. The students were divided into two groups, group I (n=22, age 20.63 +/- 1.17 yrs) comprising first year medical students who were never exposed to cell phones at the time of this study and group II (n=35, age 22.00 +/- 1.56 yrs) consists of final year (fourth year) male medical students who were using cell phone for more than four years before this study. The results showed no significant differences the groups in basal heart rate, systolic blood pressure, SpO2(%), or various hematologic parameters. Acute exposure (single call of cell phone with 900 MHz for 1 minute) in both groups showed a significant increase in peak heart rate in group II as compared with group I and a significant decrease in peak SpO2 (%) in group I as compared with group II. Serum total cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides concentration were significantly higher in group II (long term cell phone exposed) than in group I, suggesting a mild alteration of lipid profile among group II subjects.