Gandhi Gursatej, Kaur Gurpreet, Nisar Uzma
a Department of Human Genetics , Guru Nanak Dev University , Amritsar , Punjab , India.
Electromagn Biol Med. 2015;34(4):344-54. doi: 10.3109/15368378.2014.933349. Epub 2015 Aug 28.
Mobile phone base stations facilitate good communication, but the continuously emitting radiations from these stations have raised health concerns. Hence in this study, genetic damage using the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay was assessed in peripheral blood leukocytes of individuals residing in the vicinity of a mobile phone base station and comparing it to that in healthy controls. The power density in the area within 300 m from the base station exceeded the permissive limits and was significantly (p = 0.000) higher compared to the area from where control samples were collected. The study participants comprised 63 persons with residences near a mobile phone tower, and 28 healthy controls matched for gender, age, alcohol drinking and occupational sub-groups. Genetic damage parameters of DNA migration length, damage frequency (DF) and damage index were significantly (p = 0.000) elevated in the sample group compared to respective values in healthy controls. The female residents (n = 25) of the sample group had significantly (p = 0.004) elevated DF than the male residents (n = 38). The linear regression analysis further revealed daily mobile phone usage, location of residence and power density as significant predictors of genetic damage. The genetic damage evident in the participants of this study needs to be addressed against future disease-risk, which in addition to neurodegenerative disorders, may lead to cancer.
移动电话基站促进了良好的通信，但这些基站持续发射的辐射引发了人们对健康的担忧。因此，在本研究中，使用单细胞凝胶电泳（彗星）试验评估了居住在移动电话基站附近的个体外周血白细胞中的遗传损伤，并将其与健康对照组进行比较。基站300米范围内区域的功率密度超过了许可限值，与采集对照样本的区域相比显著更高（p = 0.000）。研究参与者包括63名居住在移动电话发射塔附近的人员，以及28名在性别、年龄、饮酒和职业亚组方面匹配的健康对照者。与健康对照组的相应值相比，样本组的DNA迁移长度、损伤频率（DF）和损伤指数等遗传损伤参数显著升高（p = 0.000）。样本组中的女性居民（n = 25）的DF显著高于男性居民（n = 38）（p = 0.004）。线性回归分析进一步表明，每日移动电话使用情况、居住地点和功率密度是遗传损伤的重要预测因素。本研究参与者中明显的遗传损伤需要针对未来的疾病风险加以应对，除神经退行性疾病外，这可能还会导致癌症。
