Background and objectives: The widespread use of mobile phones and the resulting exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields have raised concerns about potential adverse health effect, including brain tumors. We aimed to examine the associations between self-reported mobile phone use and brain tumor risk in a large prospective cohort study.
Methods: A total of 474,731 participants aged 40–69 years from the UK Biobank Cohort were included (recruited 2006–2010, followed up to 2021). ICD10 codes were used to identify all brain tumors and its subtypes (glioma, glioblastoma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma). Mobile phone use was defined as making or receiving calls at least once per week. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models, with age as underlying time scale.
Results:  Over an average follow-up of 10.8 years (5,350,012 person-years), 1,712 brain tumors were identified. Longest use (>8 years) at baseline compared with never use was not associated with overall brain tumor risk (HR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.74-1.04). Subtype analyses showed reduced HRs for glioma (0.79, 95% CI: 0.64–0.98) and glioblastoma (0.80, 95% CI: 0.63-1.02), and non-significant elevated HR for meningioma (1.13, 95% CI: 0.85-1.51) and acoustic neuroma (1.06, 95% CI: 0.47-2.39) for the same exposure duration.
Conclusion: We did not find evidence to support an association between mobile phone use and overall brain tumor risk. Nonetheless, limitations in the exposure assessment warrant cautious interpretation of these findings, including subtype-specific results.