Use of Mobile Phones and Radiofrequency-Emitting Devices in the COSMOS-France Cohort

COSMOS-France is the French part of the COSMOS project, an international prospective cohort study that investigates whether the use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies is associated with health effects and symptoms (cancers, cardiovascular diseases, neurologic pathologies, tinnitus, headaches, or sleep and mood disturbances). Here, we provide the first descriptive results of COSMOS-France, a cohort nested in the general population-based cohort of adults named Constances. Methods: A total of 39,284 Constances volunteers were invited to participate in the COSMOS-France study during the pilot (2017) and main recruitment phase (2019). Participants were asked to complete detailed questionnaires on their mobile phone use, health conditions, and personal characteristics. We examined the association between mobile phone use, including usage for calls and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), cordless phone use, and Wi-Fi usage with age, sex, education, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), and handedness. Results: The participation rate was 48.4%, resulting in 18,502 questionnaires in the analyzed dataset. Mobile phone use was reported by 96.1% (N = 17,782). Users reported typically calling 5–29 min per week (37.1%, N = 6600), making one to four calls per day (52.9%, N = 9408), using one phone (83.9%, N = 14,921) and not sharing it (80.4% N = 14,295), mostly using the phone on the side of the head of their dominant hand (59.1%, N = 10,300), not using loudspeakers or hands-free kits, and not using VoIP (84.9% N = 15,088). Individuals’ age and sex modified this picture, sometimes markedly. Education and smoking status were associated with ever use and call duration, but neither BMI nor handedness was. Cordless phone use was reported by 66.0% of the population, and Wi-Fi use was reported by 88.4%. Conclusion: In this cross-sectional presentation of contemporary mobile phone usage in France, age and sex were important determinants of use patterns.