A new study has been launched today to investigate whether there is a link between the use of mobile phones and long-term health problems such as cancer. It's called the cohort study on mobile communications (COSMOS) and forms part of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme, which is funded by government and industry.
COSMOS participants will be from the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The study will run for 20-30 years and will follow the health of at least a quarter of a million participants aged 18-69. The UK arm of COSMOS is being led by a research team from Imperial College London.
Principal Investigator of the study Professor Paul Elliott, from Imperial College London, said "Scientists have been looking at the effects of mobile phones on health for several years and so far, reviews of the research have been reassuring with respect to mobile phone use and health problems in the short term. However, as mobile phones have only been in widespread use for a relatively short time, we haven't been able to carry out long-term studies until now. COSMOS aims to fill in important gaps in our knowledge of mobile phones and health. By looking at large numbers of people across Europe over a long period of time, we should be able to build up a valuable picture of whether or not there is any link between mobile phone use and health problems over the long term."