Mobile Phone Head and Neck Pain Syndrome : Proposal of a New Entity

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the health effects of mobile phone usage among university students of Saudi Arabia and proposal of a new syndrome. Subjects and methods: 396 students studying in dental college and medical college of Aljouf university, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were included in the study. They were given self-administered, pre-tested questionnaire which included various mental and physical health symptoms related to mobile phone usage. Results : Cervical pain was the most commonly reported complaint, which was seen in 71.2% of study respondents, followed by headache (63.3%), irritability (54.5%), anxiety (50.7%), lack of concentration (47.4%), straining of eyes (36.8%), insomnia (31.3%), memory problems (28.5%), depression (19.69%). Itching and/or erythema of periauricuar skin the least commonly seen complaint (16.91%). Conclusion: The findings of the present study demonstrate that excessive use of mobile phones pose significant health related problems, more specifically in head and neck region. The mobile phone users usually experience subjective symptoms, the intensity of which is dependent on the intensity of use of mobile phones.

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