Speaker
Description
Adolescents are frequent users of mobile phones, which exposes them to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) during an important stage of their cognitive development.
We aim to investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and mobile phone use, including RF-EMF exposure, in a new cohort to contribute to a better understanding of mobile phone use in adolescents.
HERMES3 is an ongoing prospective cohort (n=292) study with Swiss adolescents (aged 11-15) recruited in 28 schools. Baseline data collection involved 1) six standardized, computerized cognitive tests covering different cognitive domains and 2) a questionnaire about mobile phone use, both completed in school. We used linear mixed models to test for an association of cognitive performance with a) mobile phone screen time and b) voice calling.
Ninety-two percent of participants owned a mobile phone, which they used for 138 (±88) minutes per day on average. Seventy-three percent of participants reported using their mobile phone it for voice calls. In a preliminary analysis, we did not observe a significant association between cognitive performance, screen time, and voice call duration.
Initial results indicate that there is no association between cognitive performance, mobile phone screen time, and voice call duration in the HERMES3 cohort. However, we need a more detailed RF-EMF exposure assessment and longitudinal data to draw conclusions about the relationship between RF-EMF exposure and cognitive performance.
