COSMOS is a

cohort study A cohort study is a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a cohort (a group of people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a selected period, such as birth or graduation), performing ...

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

use and

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

. The study will investigate the possible health effects of long-term use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies. It is an international study being conducted in five European countries –

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Sweden,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. In the UK, the research is being conducted by the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

Survey design and data collection

The UK study will follow the health of approximately 90,000–100,000 volunteer

users (18+ years of age for 20–30 years). The international cohort will follow the health of approximately 250,000 European mobile phone users. During a study pre-test in 2009 and the study main launch in 2010, prospective participants were randomly selected by their mobile phone network operator to be invited to participate. In order to maintain confidentiality the COSMOS team had no access to the personal details of those invited to participate in the study until they had given their consent. Participants are asked to fill in an online questionnaire about their

lifestyle Lifestyle often refers to: * Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives * ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle * Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality Lifestyle may also refer to: Bu ...

and use of technology. Participants are also asked to give permission for the study to access their

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

and mobile phone records. Participants are 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; 2.4 million UK mobile phone users were invited to participate. As of August 2010, 67,987 people were taking part in the UK arm of the study. From February 2012 the UK study changes its eligibility criteria so that invitations were no longer mandatory to participate. Anyone aged 18 or over, who is a UK resident and uses a mobile phone can take part in the study. To take part visit the study website a
www.ukcosmos.org
Initial study results will be published in 5 years.

Data Protection

The Information Commissioner 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 A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...

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 The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) was a public authority_in_the_United_Kingdom.html" ;"title="110. - 6910./ref> is a type of Nonprofit organization">nonprofit corporation chartered by a state governments of the United States, state g ...

(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 Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...

, the UK

Health Protection Agency The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It was an organisation that was set up by the UK government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and envi ...

(HPA), the UK Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR), the European Union’s

Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) is one of the independent scientific committees managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, which provide scient ...

(SCENHIR), and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

(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:

Funding

The UK COSMOS study, previously funded by the MTHR (an independent programme of research into mobile phones and health that was jointly supported by the Department of Health and industry), is now jointly funded by industry and government under the Research Initiative on Health and Mobile Telecommunications (RIHMT), and is managed through the Department of Health’s Policy Research Programme.

Media interest

The main launch was covered in the news.

References

{{Reflist

External links

UK COSMOS home page

Health Protection Agency

World Health Organization

Directgov
Epidemiological study projects Science and technology in the United Kingdom Mobile phones Mobile telecommunications Cohort studies