COSMOS cohort study
Encyclopedia
COSMOS is a cohort study
of mobile phone
use and health
. The study will investigate the possible health effects of long term mobile phone use. It is an international survey being conducted in five European countries – UK, Denmark
, Sweden
, Finland
and the Netherlands. In the UK Imperial College London
is carrying out this research.
users (18+ years of age for 20–30 years). The international cohort will follow the health of approximately 250,000 European mobile phone users.
Prospective participants are randomly selected by their mobile phone network operator to be invited to participate. In order to maintain confidentiality the COSMOS team have no access to the personal details of those invited to participate in the study until they give their consent and complete the survey. Participants are asked to fill in an online questionnaire about their mobile phone use, lifestyle and health
. Participants are also asked to give permission for the study to access their NHS
and mobile phone records. The initial phase of the study is five years. Participants will be contacted approximately once a year in order to update their details or to request additional information. The long term intention of the study is to follow participant’s health status for at least 20 years.
The main launch of the study took place on 22 April 2010 and 2.4 million UK mobile phone users were be invited to participate. As of August 2010, 68,025 people were taking part in the UK arm of the study.
Initial results will be published in 5 years.
has advised that this research study complies fully with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. All individually identifiable data will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. The results of the study will be published following independent review but no individually identifying data will ever be published. Access to data is limited to the academic research team who are required to sign strict non-disclosure agreements.
Many reviews have concluded that there is no convincing evidence to date that mobile phones are harmful to health. However, the widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon and it is possible that adverse health effects could emerge after years of prolonged use. Evidence to date suggests that short term (less than ten years) exposure to mobile phone emissions is not associated with an increase in brain and nervous system cancers. However, regarding longer term use, the evidence base necessary to allow firm judgments to be made has not yet been accumulated. There are still significant uncertainties that can only be resolved by monitoring the health of a large cohort of phone users over a long period of time.
A major report on mobile phones and health was published by the UK Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones in 2000, known as the 'Stewart report ’. This report was updated by a further review of mobile phones and health undertaken by the Advisory Group on Non-Ionizing Radiation (AGNIR ) and published by the National Radiological Protection Board
(NRPB) in 2005. Most recently, the independent Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme (MTHR), established in 2001 following the ‘Stewart Report’, published a report describing research undertaken as part of its programme.
None of the research supported by the MTHR programme and published so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones. The report also summarizes the current evidence base regarding mobile phones and health and identifies priorities for future research.
The COSMOS study aims to carry out long term health monitoring of a large group of people to identify if there are any health issues linked to long term mobile phone use. Through this health monitoring, current uncertainties about possible long term health effects associated with this new technology can be resolved. This research has been endorsed as a priority by agencies worldwide, including the Department of Health (United Kingdom)
, the UK Health Protection Agency
(HPA), the UK Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR), the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks
(SCENHIR), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Following the publication of the Stewart report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones in 2000, an independent research programme, called the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme (MTHR), was set up in the UK to look into the possible health impact of Mobile Telecommunications. The most recent report from the MTHR concluded that:
“...short term (less than ten years) exposure to mobile phone emissions is not associated with an increase in brain and nervous system cancers. However, there are still significant uncertainties that can only be resolved by monitoring the health of a large cohort of phone users over a long period of time.”
“The Committee is convinced that the best way to address these uncertainties is to carry out a large cohort study of mobile phone users, an approach that has also been rated as a high priority by the World Health Organisation.”
Cohort study
A cohort study or panel study is a form of longitudinal study used in medicine, social science, actuarial science, and ecology. It is an analysis of risk factors and follows a group of people who do not have the disease, and uses correlations to determine the absolute risk of subject contraction...
of mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
use and health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
. The study will investigate the possible health effects of long term mobile phone use. It is an international survey being conducted in five European countries – UK, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the Netherlands. In the UK Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
is carrying out this research.
Survey design and data collection
The UK study will follow the health of approximately 90–100,000 volunteer mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
users (18+ years of age for 20–30 years). The international cohort will follow the health of approximately 250,000 European mobile phone users.
Prospective participants are randomly selected by their mobile phone network operator to be invited to participate. In order to maintain confidentiality the COSMOS team have no access to the personal details of those invited to participate in the study until they give their consent and complete the survey. Participants are asked to fill in an online questionnaire about their mobile phone use, lifestyle and health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
. Participants are also asked to give permission for the study to access their NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
and mobile phone records. The initial phase of the study is five years. Participants will be contacted approximately once a year in order to update their details or to request additional information. The long term intention of the study is to follow participant’s health status for at least 20 years.
Development
A pre-test took place in May 2009; 4,500 mobile phone users were invited to take part in the study.The main launch of the study took place on 22 April 2010 and 2.4 million UK mobile phone users were be invited to participate. As of August 2010, 68,025 people were taking part in the UK arm of the study.
Initial results will be published in 5 years.
Data Protection
The Information CommissionerInformation Commissioner
The role of Information Commissioner differs from nation to nation. Most commonly it is a title given to a government regulator in the fields of freedom of information and the protection of personal data in the widest sense.-Canada:...
has advised that this research study complies fully with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. All individually identifiable data will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. The results of the study will be published following independent review but no individually identifying data will ever be published. Access to data is limited to the academic research team who are required to sign strict non-disclosure agreements.
Background
Mobile phones have been in widespread use for a relatively short period of time. There are currently more than six billion users of mobile phones worldwide and in the UK there are over 70 million mobile phone devices in use. It is important for current users, and for future generations, to find out whether there are any possible long-term health effects from this new and widespread technology.Many reviews have concluded that there is no convincing evidence to date that mobile phones are harmful to health. However, the widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon and it is possible that adverse health effects could emerge after years of prolonged use. Evidence to date suggests that short term (less than ten years) exposure to mobile phone emissions is not associated with an increase in brain and nervous system cancers. However, regarding longer term use, the evidence base necessary to allow firm judgments to be made has not yet been accumulated. There are still significant uncertainties that can only be resolved by monitoring the health of a large cohort of phone users over a long period of time.
A major report on mobile phones and health was published by the UK Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones in 2000, known as the 'Stewart report ’. This report was updated by a further review of mobile phones and health undertaken by the Advisory Group on Non-Ionizing Radiation (AGNIR ) and published by the National Radiological Protection Board
National Radiological Protection Board
The National Radiological Protection Board was a public authority in the UK created by the Radiological Protection Act 1970. Its statutory functions were to conduct research on radiological protection and provide advice and information on the subject to Government Departments and others. It was...
(NRPB) in 2005. Most recently, the independent Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme (MTHR), established in 2001 following the ‘Stewart Report’, published a report describing research undertaken as part of its programme.
None of the research supported by the MTHR programme and published so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones. The report also summarizes the current evidence base regarding mobile phones and health and identifies priorities for future research.
The COSMOS study aims to carry out long term health monitoring of a large group of people to identify if there are any health issues linked to long term mobile phone use. Through this health monitoring, current uncertainties about possible long term health effects associated with this new technology can be resolved. This research has been endorsed as a priority by agencies worldwide, including the Department of Health (United Kingdom)
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
, the UK Health Protection Agency
Health Protection Agency
The Health Protection Agency, or, in Welsh, Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd is a statutory corporation. It is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards...
(HPA), the UK Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR), the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks
Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks is one of the independent scientific committees managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, which provide scientific advice to the Commission on issues related to consumer...
(SCENHIR), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Following the publication of the Stewart report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones in 2000, an independent research programme, called the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme (MTHR), was set up in the UK to look into the possible health impact of Mobile Telecommunications. The most recent report from the MTHR concluded that:
“...short term (less than ten years) exposure to mobile phone emissions is not associated with an increase in brain and nervous system cancers. However, there are still significant uncertainties that can only be resolved by monitoring the health of a large cohort of phone users over a long period of time.”
“The Committee is convinced that the best way to address these uncertainties is to carry out a large cohort study of mobile phone users, an approach that has also been rated as a high priority by the World Health Organisation.”