Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Friday, May 17, 2013

Reports about mobile phone calls cause an increase in blood pressure

Mark Bridge writes:

I was on the radio for a few minutes this morning. Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3 FM was talking to me about a recent survey that noted a rise in blood pressure when people received calls on their mobile phones. As I waited to go on-air, a producer asked me what I thought. “Storm in a teacup”, I said. Well, it seemed better than “Makes my blood boil”.

At least LBC spent a few minutes looking into the story, which came from the annual American Society of Hypertension meeting in San Francisco. That’s more than some newspapers have done. The Daily Mail chose a headline of “Talking on a mobile phone can give you high blood pressure due to the stress it can cause”. Yet the research wasn’t about talking but answering. The Telegraph has “Mobile phones cause blood pressure to rise”, which is worryingly vague. Why am I being cynical about these stories?  To start with, the research was conducted on people who were taking medication for already-diagnosed hypertension. The purpose was to see whether answering a phone call during blood pressure monitoring would affect their readings.

Yes, their blood pressure was affected by receiving a call. Readings rose rose from an average of 121/77mmHg to 129/82. That wouldn’t worry me too much - after all, the NHS says any reading below 130/80 is considered to be normal - but it’s a much bigger deal if you’re taking medication and your doctor wants a consistent, accurate measurement.

Dr Giuseppe Crippa, who heads the hypertension unit at Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in the Italian city of Piacenza, conducted the research. He’s quoted as saying “This phenomenon might lead to misinterpretation and overestimation of the real patients’ blood pressure status. We believe that it is important to advise all patients to turn off their phone before entering the doctor’s office.”

That’s sensible advice. In fact, I’d say that’s the appropriate conclusion to be drawn at the moment.

After all, the study was of just 94 people... all of whom were receiving phone calls during blood pressure monitoring from a number they didn’t know. Interestingly, people who used their mobiles more than 30 times a day weren’t as dramatically affected as those who used their phones less.

Would a similar result have been noted if the patients had witnessed an unexpected event when watching television - perhaps during a news programme or an action film?  Would a fixed-line phone have had the same effect?  I don’t know. That’s something for another study.

Health professionals often talk of ‘white coat syndrome’ or ‘white coat hypertension’, which refers to an increase in blood pressure experienced by some patients when they’re in a clinical setting. It sounds as though an unexpected phone call can have similar effects.

In fact, I wonder what happens to blood pressure when people read about health scares in newspapers?

[Crippa Giuseppe , Zabzuni Dorjan, Cassi Antonino, Bravi Elena; Mobile Phone Calls Acutely Increase Blood Pressure Levels in Hypertensive Subjects [abstract]. Journal of Clinical Hypertension 2013;15 Suppl 1 :74]

Mark Bridge is not a health professional, although he is a big fan of 24 Hours in A&E. He’s a freelance technology writer and also produces podcasts for The Fonecast every week.
Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: Handsets and manufacturers, OpinionNumber of views: 16082

Tags: usa opinion health italy

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
1345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement