An international prospective cohort study of mobile phone users and health (COSMOS): Factors affecting validity of self-reported mobile phone useInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Finnish Cancer Registry, Mass Screening Registry, Helsinki, Finland.
Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), Helsinki, Finland.
MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Section of Environment and Radiation, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
Oncology clinic, Finsen Center, Copenhagen, Denmark; The Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Section of Environment and Radiation, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London, UK.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.
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2018 (English)In: International journal of hygiene and environmental health, ISSN 1438-4639, E-ISSN 1618-131X, Vol. 221, no 1, p. 1-8Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
This study investigates validity of self-reported mobile phone use in a subset of 75 993 adults from the COSMOS cohort study. Agreement between self-reported and operator-derived mobile call frequency and duration for a 3-month period was assessed using Cohen's weighted Kappa (κ). Sensitivity and specificity of both self-reported high (≥10 calls/day or ≥4h/week) and low (≤6 calls/week or <30min/week) mobile phone use were calculated, as compared to operator data. For users of one mobile phone, agreement was fair for call frequency (κ=0.35, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.36) and moderate for call duration (κ=0.50, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.50). Self-reported low call frequency and duration demonstrated high sensitivity (87% and 76% respectively), but for high call frequency and duration sensitivity was lower (38% and 56% respectively), reflecting a tendency for greater underestimation than overestimation. Validity of self-reported mobile phone use was lower in women, younger age groups and those reporting symptoms during/shortly after using a mobile phone. This study highlights the ongoing value of using self-report data to measure mobile phone use. Furthermore, compared to continuous scale estimates used by previous studies, categorical response options used in COSMOS appear to improve validity considerably, most likely by preventing unrealistically high estimates from being reported.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier GmbH - Urban und Fischer , 2018. Vol. 221, no 1, p. 1-8
Keywords [en]
Cellular phone; Telecommunications; Radiofrequency; Electromagnetic fields; Validation
National Category
Occupational Health and Environmental Health
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-62411DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.09.008ISI: 000423002700001PubMedID: 29056311Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85031780945OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-62411DiVA, id: diva2:1164673
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 50096102Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2010-0082 2014-0889VINNOVA, P31735-1
Note
Funding Agencies:
AFA Insurance T-26:04
TeliaSonera AB
Ericsson AB
Telenor Sverige AB
UK part of COSMOS
UK Department of Health
mobile telecommunications industry 091/0006
UK Department of Health via Policy Research Programme PR-ST-0713-00003
National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards at King's College London
Imperial College London in partnership
Public Health England (PHE) HPRU-2012-10141
National Technology Agency (TEKES)
Nokia
TeliaSonera
Elisa
Pirkanmaa Hospital District competitive research funding VTR 9T003
Yrjo Jahnsson Foundation 5692
Mobile Manufacturers' Forum
Pirkanmaa Hospital District as a firewall
Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) within the Electromagnetic Fields and Health Research programme 85200001 85500003 85800001
Danish Strategic Research Council 2103-05-0006/2064-04-0010
French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) 2013-CRD-17
International Agency for Research on Cancer
2017-12-112017-12-112024-07-04Bibliographically approved