A study linking mobile phone use in pregnancy to behavioural problems in children has been dismissed as inconclusive by the industry in Australia.

World-first research from Denmark and the US has concluded that women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioural problems.

According to the study, they just need to use it two or three times a day to raise the risk of their baby developing hyperactivity and emotional and conduct issues by the age of five.

The researchers behind the study of 13,000 children say their results were unexpected and the link was difficult to explain.

But if they hold true, they have major health implications, the team said.

The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, which represents mobile phone companies, however, said the results should be interpreted with caution.

Chief executive Chris Althaus said mobile phone emission levels were very low.

"Scientific evidence does not indicate the need for special precautions for either adults or children in the use of mobile phones," Mr Althaus said.

"Even the study's authors have noted the results were unexpected and exposure to a foetus from a mobile phone is likely to be extremely low."

The study by UCLA in California and Aarhus University in Denmark was published this week in the journal Epidemiology.

It showed that mothers who used mobile phones were 54 per cent more likely to have children with behavioural problems, according to a report in the UK's Independent newspaper.

They were between 25 and 35 per cent more at risk of emotional problems, hyperactivity and difficulties relating to their peers, and 50 per cent more prone to conduct problems.

The researchers said their results were surprising and could not be explained by other links, like smoking during pregnancy, inheritable psychiatric disorders or social economic status.

However, they said it was possible mothers who used their phones more frequently might tend to pay less attention to their children, leading to behavioural problems.

一項將懷孕期間使用移動電話與兒童的行為問題聯系起來的研究，由于澳大利亞的產業(yè)部門未有定論而被擱置下來。

由丹麥和美國進行的世界首次研究已經得出結論，孕期婦女使用移動電話，極可能誕生具有行為問題的子女。

根據這項研究，只要她們每天使用兩次或三次移動電話，就會增加她們的孩子在5歲前發(fā)生多動癥以及情緒和行為問題的風險。

研究人員們在研究了 13,000 名兒童的情況后說，他們的研究結果是出乎意料的，而且這種關聯難以解釋。

該小組說，但是，如果情況屬實，它們會對健康有重大影響。

不過，代表移動電話公司的澳大利亞移動通訊協會說，對這樣的結果進行解釋時應當謹慎。

董事長克里斯 奧爾索斯說，移動電話的放射水平是非常低的。

“科學證據并沒有顯示，在使用移動電話時需要特別的防護措施，無論對成人或者兒童，”奧爾索斯說。

“即使這項研究的作者指出其結果出乎意料，但是移動電話對胎兒的暴露大概還是極低的。”

這項由加州大學洛杉磯分校在加利福尼亞州以及由奧爾胡斯大學在丹麥進行的研究，是本周在‘流行病學’雜志上公布的。

按照英國獨立報的報道，情況表明，使用移動電話的母親，54％ 以上可能有具有行為問題的子女。

這些孩子之中的 25％ 和 35％ 以上處于情緒問題、多動以及難同他們的伙伴建立聯系的風險，而 50％ 以上容易發(fā)生行為問題。

研究人員們說，他們的結果令人驚訝，并且不能用其它的關聯，例如孕期吸煙、遺傳性的精神失調或社會經濟地位來解釋。

不過，他們說，也許是使用手機更為頻繁的母親可能傾向于較少關注她們的子女而導致孩子們行為上的問題。