The new health study by the Jama Network found that the overall number of cell phone-related neck and head injuries has increased “steeply” over the last 20 years.
Jama conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,501 reported injuries between 1998 and 2017. The most commonly reported injuries affected the head, face, eyes, nose, and neck. The most common injury diagnoses included laceration, contusion, and internal organ injury, Android Authority reported.
The study included a total of 55% female subjects, 38.8% caucasian subjects, and 37.6% were between 13 and 29 years old. Jama estimates the weighted total includes more than 76,000 patients across the US affected by cell phone-related injuries. Most injuries affected individuals between 13 and 29, but those younger than 13 were significantly more likely to suffer the most long-term complications.
So, what’s causing all of these injuries then? Apparently, most came about when people were simply distracted by their cell phones. Though, many victims sustained direct mechanical injury from cell phones too. Common activities like texting while walking seem to be among the worst offenders.
Jama says our growing dependence on mobile devices requires patient injury prevention education in order to cut back on cell phone-related injuries. You can read over the full report for yourself to get a more in-depth understanding of the results.