New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) Limiting the use of mobile phones for making calls may help reduce the risk of heart diseases, according to a neurologist.
“Limiting mobile phone usage along with other healthy lifestyle measures can go a long way in promoting heart health,” said Dr Sudhir Kumar from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals on the social media platform ‘X’.
“Limiting the duration of making and taking calls is useful in reducing the risk of CVD,” Kumar added.
He also suggests quitting smoking, “getting good sleep and reducing psychological stress.”
He said this while citing a recent Chinese study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, which showed an increased link between mobile phone use and cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and heart attack.
The number of mobile phone subscribers worldwide has grown dramatically in recent decades and surpassed 8.2 billion in 2020, according to data from the International Telecommunication Union.
At this time, cases of heart disease are being seen a lot all over the world including India.
Data from the World Heart Federation (WHF) showed that deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) globally have increased from 12.1 million in 1990 to 20.5 million in 2021.
The study conducted by researchers at Southern Medical University in China showed that weekly mobile phone use time is positively associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
The study suggested that this risk was partly due to “poor sleep, psychological distress, and mental disorders.”
The research team said that mobile phones emit electromagnetic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), which can cause many changes in the body. These changes can disrupt the coordination between the brain and the body, cause inflammation, and damage cells. All of these affect the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart diseases.
The study included 444,027 individuals who had no history of CVD.
After more than 12 years of follow-up, 56,181 individuals (12.7 percent) were identified as being at risk for CVD.
Compared with participants who used mobile phones for less than 1 hour per week, those who used mobile phones for more than 1 hour per week had a significantly higher risk of a cardiovascular disease event.
Diabetic patients and smokers were also found to have an increased risk of CVD.
“Smoking and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease, so smokers should quit smoking and diabetics should keep blood sugar under control,” Kumar said.
–IANS
AKS/AS
