Mobile Phones and ADHD: Is There a Link?

April 17th, 2013

Yoon Hwan Byun of the Department of Medicine at Dankook University College of Medicine in Korea recently conducted a study that suggests a possible link between symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) and mobile phone use. Byun wanted to expand upon the existing literature on this topic by looking at how radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) affected developing brains with prolonged exposure. The data that is available on this topic points to a possible, but inconclusive, link. Because mobile phone exposure is virtually impossible to avoid, it is important to know if the RFs of mobile phones can cause or influence ADHD. Another variable in the equation are blood lead levels, which appear to be higher in children with RF exposure. Although some research has been able to show that mobile phone exposure in utero increases the risk of conduct and behavior problems in children, there is no existing research that demonstrates a clear relationship between prenatalmobile phone exposure and later neurological developmental impairment in children.

Therefore, Byun assessed more than 2,400 elementary school children for mobile phone exposure and ADHD symptoms via parental reports. Two years later, Byun re-interviewed the participants and found that children who used mobile phones for voice calls were more likely to develop symptoms of ADHD than those who didn’t, but this was only statistically significant in children who were also exposed to high levels of lead. However, all children who played games on phones were at increased risk for ADHD symptoms with low-lead blood level children showing particular vulnerability. Also, the children who stopped using mobile phones during the study period had a much sharper decline in symptoms than those who continued using mobile phones. Byun added, “Therefore, preventing the use of mobile phones in children may be one measure to keep children from developing ADHD symptoms regardless of the possible roles of mobile phone use in ADHD symptoms.”

Byun notes that although these findings shed new light on the possible impact of RF-EMF on developing brains, there may be a reverse causality. In other words, children who spend an exorbitant amount of time playing video games may do so because of more severe ADHD symptoms, such as inattention and hyperfocusing. Nevertheless, the results of this study do offer further evidence that lead exposure and RF exposure increase dramatically with mobile phone use. The full impact of these exposures on ADHD and other cognitive and behavioral outcomes has yet to be clarified and more work should be devoted to this issue.

Reference:
Byun Y-H, Ha M, Kwon H-J, Hong Y-C, Leem J-H, et al. (2013). Mobile phone use, blood Lead levels, and attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms in children: A longitudinal study. PLoS ONE 8(3): e59742. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059742