2023-05-13 17:30:32
HIBAPRESS-RABAT
A recent study found that phone calls of 30 minutes or more per week were associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and cardiac stress.
According to the research paper published in the European Heart Journal—Digital Health, those who call regularly and spend an hour on the phone a day are most likely to develop this condition.
It is estimated that nearly three-quarters of the world’s population aged 10 and over owns a mobile phone.
Worldwide, approximately 1.3 billion adults between the ages of 30 and 79 suffer from high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke and a leading cause of premature death worldwide. The condition can damage the arteries by making them less flexible, reducing the flow of blood and oxygen which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Cell phones emit low levels of radio frequency energy, which has been linked to increased blood pressure after short exposure. The results of previous studies on cell phone use and blood pressure were inconsistent, possibly because they included calls, texts, games, etc.
A team from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, wanted to determine if there was a link between making and receiving phone calls and a new diagnosis of high blood pressure.
The team analyzed data from over 200,000 UK Biobank adults, aged 37 to 73, who did not have high blood pressure. They collected information about their use of cell phones through a questionnaire.
The questionnaire included questions about the number of years the participants had used a mobile phone, the number of hours per week they spent using it, and whether they used a speakerphone or a device. Bluetooth hands-free.
Researchers analyzed the association between cell phone use and the onset of blood pressure after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, race, deprivation, family history of high blood pressure, education, smoking status, blood pressure, blood lipids, inflammation, blood sugar, kidney function, and use of drugs to lower cholesterol or blood sugar. .
During a 12-year follow-up, researchers found that participants who talked on their cellphones for 30 minutes or more per week had a 12% higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those who spent less time on the phone. phone. That’s the equivalent of being on the phone for just four minutes and 17 seconds a day.
Looking at the results in more detail, they found that people who spent more than six hours on the phone per week had a 25% higher risk of high blood pressure than those who spent less than five minutes making or receiving calls. telephone.
The number of years participants spent using a cell phone, or whether they used a hands-free device attached to a phone, did not appear to affect the level of risk.
Professor Shihanui Chen, one of the study’s authors, said: ‘The number of minutes people spend talking on a mobile phone is important for heart health, with more minutes meaning greater risk. Our results suggest that talking on a mobile phone may not increase the risk of developing high blood pressure as long as weekly contact time is less than half an hour.
“Further research is needed to replicate the results, but until then it seems prudent to keep mobile phone calls to a minimum to maintain heart health.”
1684004013
#STUDY #HOUR #PHONE #CALLS #WEEK #LEADS #HEART #STRESS #HYPERTENSION