The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) reports that about 15% of Americans, or 37 million people, have chronic kidney disease (CKD). NKF further states that hypertension (high blood pressure) is second only to diabetes in the cause of kidney failure. About 20% of those with hypertension may have CKD. Recently (2023), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) highlighted the correlation between hypertension and chronic kidney disease on its website, urging Americans to control their blood pressure in order to reduce their chances for CKD.
I recently ran across an article in SciTechDaily by European Society of Cardiology dated 7/17/2023 titled “An Unexpected Pathway to Hypertension: Your Phone Habits Could Be Putting Your Heart at Risk.” I immediately applied this concept to myself, my triple bypass, hypertension, and subsequent Peritoneal Dialysis. Are we as a global population setting ourselves up for hypertensive-driven health challenges as a result of cell phone use?
I turned to my ChatGPT and instructed it to write a 500-word or less summary of the article. The results follow. Talk less, live longer?
New research published in the European Heart Journal – Digital Health suggests that spending over 30 minutes per week talking on mobile phones may lead to a 12% increased risk of high blood pressure (hypertension). The study, conducted by Professor Xianhui Qin of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, utilized data from the UK Biobank and involved over 200,000 adults aged 37 to 73 years.
Nearly three-quarters of people aged 10 and over globally own a mobile phone, and approximately 1.3 billion adults worldwide suffer from hypertension, a major cause of heart attack, stroke, and premature death. Mobile phones emit low-level radiofrequency energy, previously associated with short-term blood pressure increases. This research exclusively focused on the link between phone call duration and hypertension onset, an area that past studies showed mixed results, possibly due to the inclusion of other mobile phone activities.
The study participants’ information regarding phone usage for calls was collected via self-reported questionnaires, and those who used their phones at least once a week for this purpose were categorized as mobile phone users. The researchers then analyzed the relationship between mobile phone usage and new-onset hypertension, adjusting for factors such as age, sex, BMI, race, medical history, lifestyle, and medication.
The median follow-up period was 12 years, during which 13,984 (7%) participants developed hypertension. A 7% higher hypertension risk was observed in mobile phone users compared to non-users. Individuals spending 30 minutes or more per week on phone calls were found to have a 12% higher likelihood of developing hypertension than those who spent less time. The results were consistent across genders.
Further, the study revealed a positive correlation between phone usage time and hypertension risk, irrespective of participants’ genetic susceptibility to hypertension. The risk was notably high (33% higher) in those with high genetic risk who talked on the phone for at least 30 minutes weekly compared to those with low genetic risk spending less time on the phone. Notably, the study found no significant link between hypertension and years of phone use or usage of hands-free devices or speakerphones.
Prof. Qin advised limiting mobile phone calls to under half an hour per week for heart health preservation until more research confirms these findings.
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