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.

一项将怀孕期间使用移动电话与儿童的行为问题联系起来的研究，由于澳大利亚的产业部门未有定论而被搁置下来。

由丹麦和美国进行的世界首次研究已经得出结论，孕期妇女使用移动电话，极可能诞生具有行为问题的子女。

根据这项研究，只要她们每天使用两次或三次移动电话，就会增加她们的孩子在5岁前发生多动症以及情绪和行为问题的风险。

研究人员们在研究了 13,000 名儿童的情况后说，他们的研究结果是出乎意料的，而且这种关联难以解释。

该小组说，但是，如果情况属实，它们会对健康有重大影响。

不过，代表移动电话公司的澳大利亚移动通讯协会说，对这样的结果进行解释时应当谨慎。

董事长克里斯 奥尔索斯说，移动电话的放射水平是非常低的。

“科学证据并没有显示，在使用移动电话时需要特别的防护措施，无论对成人或者儿童，”奥尔索斯说。

“即使这项研究的作者指出其结果出乎意料，但是移动电话对胎儿的暴露大概还是极低的。”

这项由加州大学洛杉矶分校在加利福尼亚州以及由奥尔胡斯大学在丹麦进行的研究，是本周在‘流行病学’杂志上公布的。

按照英国独立报的报道，情况表明，使用移动电话的母亲，54％ 以上可能有具有行为问题的子女。

这些孩子之中的 25％ 和 35％ 以上处于情绪问题、多动以及难同他们的伙伴建立联系的风险，而 50％ 以上容易发生行为问题。

研究人员们说，他们的结果令人惊讶，并且不能用其它的关联，例如孕期吸烟、遗传性的精神失调或社会经济地位来解释。

不过，他们说，也许是使用手机更为频繁的母亲可能倾向于较少关注她们的子女而导致孩子们行为上的问题。