Association of excessive mobile phone use during pregnancy with birth weight: an adjunct study in Kumamoto of Japan Environment and Children’s Study
Lu et al. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
Association of excessive mobile phone use during pregnancy with birth weight: an adjunct study in Kumamoto of Japan Environment and Children's Study
Xi Lu 0 3
Masako Oda 2 3
Takashi Ohba 1 3
Hiroshi Mitsubuchi 3 4
Shota Masuda 0 3
Takahiko Katoh 0 3
0 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University , Kumamoto City, Kumamoto , Japan
1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University , Kumamoto City , Japan
2 The Southern Kyushu and Okinawa Unit Center, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University , Kumamoto City, Kumamoto , Japan
3 Authors' information 1. Xi Lu is an assistant professor from the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan. 2. Masako Oda is a senior lecturer from the Southern Kyushu and Okinawa Unit Center, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan. 3. Takashi Ohba is an associate professor from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan. 4. Hiroshi Mitsubuchi is a professor from the Department of Neonatology, Kumamoto University Hospital, Japan. 5. Shota Masuda is a graduate student and medical doctor from the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan. 6. Takahiko Katoh is a professor from the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University , Japan
4 Department of Neonatology, Kumamoto University Hospital , Kumamoto City, Kumamoto , Japan
Background: Low birth weight has been shown to be closely associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity, inhibited growth, poor cognitive development, and chronic diseases later in life. Some studies have also shown that excessive mobile phone use in the postnatal period may lead to behavioral complications in the children during their growing years; however, the relationship between mobile phone use during pregnancy and neonatal birth weight is not clear. The aim of the present study was to determine the associations of excessive mobile phone use with neonatal birth weight and infant health status. Methods: A sample of 461 mother and child pairs participated in a survey on maternal characteristics, infant characteristics, and maternal mobile phone usage information during pregnancy. Results: Our results showed that pregnant women tend to excessively use mobile phones in Japan. The mean infant birth weight was lower in the excessive use group than in the ordinary use group, and the frequency of infant emergency transport was significantly higher in the excessive use group than in the ordinary use group. Conclusions: Excessive mobile phone use during pregnancy may be a risk factor for lower birth weight and a high rate of infant emergency transport.
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Background
Birth weight is the body weight of a baby at birth [1].
There is a widespread belief that the birth weight of
babies has increased in the last several years [2, 3].
However, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
[4] reported that the mean neonatal birth weight in
Japan decreased from 3.24 kg for boys and 3.15 kg for
girls in 1975 to 3.04 kg for boys and 2.96 kg for girls in
2014 and that the rate of low-birth-weight infants (birth
weight below 2500 g) increased from 4.7% for boys and
5.5% for girls in 1975 to 8.5% for boys and 10.7% for
girls in 2014. Therefore, the mean birth weight of
Japanese infants is decreasing steadily, and previous
studies support this finding [5, 6]. Low birth weight has
been shown to be closely associated with neonatal
mortality and morbidity, inhibited growth, poor
cognitive development, and chronic diseases later in life [7]. A
previous study reported that low birth weight
predisposes individuals to chronic diseases, such as ischemic
heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension, during adult
life [8]. Maternal factors, such as primiparity, maternal
smoking during pregnancy, maternal age, and multiple
pregnancies, have been shown to be related with
neonatal birth weight [8]; however, there is still no clarity on
the relationship between many other factors and
neonatal birth weight.
Recently, mobile phones have rapidly become
important and widely available tools that are routinely
used for a variety of purposes by a large number of
people [9–12]. Most people have mobile phones and
use them very often. Many people, especially the
youth, use mobile phones to study, search for
information on the Internet, play games, and communicate
with others [13]. Some studies have shown that
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