(in edit)
I'm not a scientist, nor am I a statistician.
However, I believe that the data below shows very strong positive correlations between per capita smart phone penetration and general cancer incidence, specific malignant melanoma incidence, and suicide rates.
The first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have, respectively, the sixth- and eighth-highest cancer frequency rates in the world.
Pristinely-clean New Zealand, the sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nation, is first in skin cancer, and also fourth in the world in terms of overall cancer rate.
None of the ten-lowest smart phone penetration nations are in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence. While seven of the ten highest smart phone penetration nations are in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
Thus there is a very strong positive correlation between smart phone penetration and cancer incidence.
From 1970 to 2009, the incidence of melanoma increased globally by 8-fold among young women and 4-fold among young men.
(Twice as high among young women as young men - ed)
The second-, third- and sixth-highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first-, second- and third-highest melanoma rates in the world.
This shows a very strong correlation between smart phone penetration and melanoma rates.
Of the ten lowest smart phone penetration nations, four are ranked "very low" in terms of suicide rate, two are ranked "low", two are ranked "medium", and two are ranked "high." While, of the ten highest smart phone penetration nations, none are ranked "very low" in terms of suicide rate, four are ranked "low", five are ranked "medium", and one is ranked "high".
And so, thus, four of the low-smart-phone-penetration nations have "very low" suicide rates, while, in the high-penetration nations, there are zero "very low's".
Thus there is a very strong positive correlation between smart phone penetration and higher suicide rates.
There are two "medium's" and two "high's" in the low-penetration nations, in terms of suicide rates. While there are five "medium's" and one "high" in the high penetration nations.
This shows another very strong correlation between smart phone penetration and higher suicide rates.
The Top Ten Smart Phone Penetration Nations, measured by the Pew Research Center survey conducted in 40 nations among 45,435 respondents from March 25 to May 27, 2015.
Smart phone penetration in South Korea is the highest on the planet, at 88%. Number three in terms of suicide rate, in the "High" category, at 29.34. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
January 4, 2017 - South Korea's suicide rate triples in 25 years
Australia's in second place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 77%. 63rd in terms of suicide rate, in the "Medium" category. Third highest cancer incidence in the world, at 323.0.
Melanoma
July 13, 2016 - Australia has world's second highest melanoma rates
Suicide
July 26, 2015 – Alarming rise in female suicide and self-harm in Australia, new report ...
March 9, 2016 – A steep rise in death by suicide among middle-aged Australians and young women has driven the national suicide rate to its highest level in 13 years.
Israel's in third place, at 74%. 109th, 6.02, in the "low" category, in terms of suicide rate. 19th highest cancer rate in the world.
The United States is in fourth place, at 72%. 47th, at 12.38, near the top of the "Medium" category in terms of suicide. 6th highest cancer rate in the world.
Cancer
Cancer frequency: The U.S. at position six, and South Korea at 8, out of all nations on Earth:
6 United States of America 318.0
7 Ireland 307.9
8 Korea, Republic of 307.8
So we've learned the first-highest and fourth-highest Smart Phone penetrations on Earth have, respectively, the sixth and eighth highest cancer frequency on Earth.
Melanoma
December 22, 2016 - Melanoma Incidence and Mortality Rates Rise in the US
The compound annual growth rate was 0.9% in raw incidence and 3.0% in in situ melanoma incidence.The compound annual growth rate was 0.9% in raw incidence and 3.0% in in situ melanoma incidence.
According to a research letter published in JAMA Dermatology, the burden of melanoma is increasing in the United States. Alex Glazer, MD, from the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine in New York City, and colleagues compared data on the absolute number of invasive melanomas reported in 2016 with similarly obtained data in 2009. They calculated raw incidence rates for 2016 and 2009, and then calculated the compound annual growth rates (CAGR).
The researchers note that in 2016, an estimated 76,380 Americans will be diagnosed with invasive melanoma. The raw incidence rates increased from 22.2 to 23.6 per 100,000 population (0.9% CAGR).
(a 6.3% increase in Melanoma in the U.S. from 2009 to 2016, they withheld that percentage, I had to do the math - ed)
The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of melanoma cases over the past few decades. The incidence of melanoma has increased 15 times in the last 40 years. This is a more rapid increase than for any other cancer.3 In the United Kingdom, a similar increase in the incidence has been seen.4
Suicide
November 4, 2015 – “Puzzling” Rise in White Suicide « The Thinking Housewife
April 4, 2015 – Other research proposes a correlation between social-media use and increased depression and suicide. A 2012 article in the American Journal of Public Health noted that more people using the internet is positively correlated to a higher general population suicide rate.
(says it’s ‘social media’, but it’s ‘the internet’, period. Connection to it. - ed)
March 6, 2015 – The suicide rate for girls and young women in the U.S. continues to rise at a pace far faster than for young males, health officials said Thursday. The report found that from 2007-2013, the rate for young females went from 2.2 to 3.4 per 100,000. That's the highest since 1981, when such tracking began.
June, 2016 – Suicide Replaces Homicide as Second-Leading Cause of Death ...
July 5, 2016 – Is The Recent Rise In Utah Youth Suicides Really Such A Mystery?
September 7, 2016 – The number of suicide deaths increased 6 percent in Minnesota last year
Mortality
July, 2010 – A new study by researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has found that women between the ages of 35 and 54 were more likely to die in hospitals following heart attacks than men of a similar age. This finding from a sample of more than 423,000 patients can be seen as surprising, given that women, on average, develop their first acute myocardial infarction about 10 years later than men, and are overall less likely to develop myocardial infarction than are men. The study was published in the July 2010 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.April 8, 2016 - As white women between 25 and 55 die at spiking rates, a close look ...
November 15, 2013 – One in five women with lung cancer has never smoked, and the diagnosis rate among women is only increasing.
March 4, 2013 – Mortality mystery: Female death rates are rising--and it's not clear why ...
April 25, 2015 – Five months ago, a report made waves with the finding that middle-aged white Americans are dying earlier, and at markedly higher rates — a demographic health reversal only seen in the U.S.
Specifically, this increase in mortality rates was linked to increases in deaths from drugs, alcohol and suicide, especially among whites with less education.
But critics who re-analyzed the numbers and separated men and women found that this increase in death rates only applied to white women, not white men. And a new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics affirms this view.
April 20, 2016 - White Women Suffered Biggest Drop In Life Expectancy In The U.S. ...
April 20, 2016 – Life Expectancy Drops For White Women, Increases For Black Men
June 1, 2016 - First Rise in U.S. Death Rate in Years Surprises Experts
June 1, 2016 - U.S. Death Rate Rises for First Time in a Decade, Reasons Are Unclear
June 1, 2016 – U.S. Death Rate Rises, But Health Officials Aren't Sure Why - NBC News
June 1, 2016 – Experts Stunned By Rising Death Rate in Obama's America. .
June 3, 2016 – America's Mysterious Rising Death Rate
June 28, 2016 – Global Warming Will Cause Rise in Death Rates - ABC News
June 30, 2016 – While middle-age blacks and Latinos have seen steady declines in their mortality in recent years, whites in the same age group saw their mortality increase about 10% between 1999 and 2014.
Infant Mortality
November 30, 2015 – Crib bumpers blamed for infant death rate increase
August 20, 2016 – Maine has gone from having the lowest infant mortality rate in the country to one of the highest over the last 20 years. State health experts said they don’t know why more babies are dying during the first 12 months of their lives.
Maternal Mortality
July 14, 2013 – US maternal mortality rate doubles in past 25 years
July 14, 2013 – US maternal mortality rate doubles in past 25 years
May 10, 2015 - American mothers die in childbirth at twice the rate they did in 2000 ...
August 15, 2016 – The US maternal death rate has doubled. But why? | Advisory Board ...
August 25, 2016 – The maternal mortality rate across most of the US increased by 27 percent from 2000 to 2014August 25, 2016 – The maternal mortality rate across most of the US increased by 27 percent from 2000 to 2014,September 7, 2016 - More new mothers in Texas are dying and experts can't say why ...
February 1, 2016 – His team put the maternal mortality rate increase in the U.S. between 1990 and 2013 at closer to 49 percent
Car Accidents and Deaths
“In their seminal article, Redemeier and Tibshirani (1997) reported epidemiological evidence suggesting that: “the relative risk (of being in a traffic accident while using a cell phone) is similar to the hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal limit (p. 456).”
Total accidents, Alcohol, zero. Total accidents, baseline, zero. Total accidents, cell phone, 3.
When participants were intoxicated, neither accident rates, nor reaction times to vehicles braking in front of the participant, nor recovery of lost speed following braking differed significantly from baseline.
When drivers were conversing on a cell phone, they were involved in more rear-end collisions and took longer to recover the speed that they had lost during braking than when they were intoxicated.
Also noteworthy was the fact that the driving impairments associated with hand held and hand’s free cell phone conversations were not significantly different.
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Across three studies, 120 participants performed in both baseline and cell phone conditions. Two were involved in an accident in baseline conditions, and 10 were involved in an accident when they were conversing on a cell phone. No accidents were involved in the alcohol sessions.
“Conclusion: when driving conditions and time on task were controlled for, the impairment associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving drunk. These estimates were made by evaluating the cellular records of 699 individuals involved in motor vehicle accidents. It was found that 24% of these individuals were using their cell phone within the ten minute period preceding the accident, and this was associated with a fourfold increase in the likelihood of getting into an accident.
Strayer, Drews, Crouch, from “A Comparison of the Cell Phone and the Drunk Driver”, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006.
November 3, 2015 – Allstate doubles pace of rate hikes as costs keep rising ... That's created something of a mystery as to what's causing the increase in accidents.
February 17, 2016 – 2015 Brought Biggest Percent Increase in U.S. Traffic Deaths in 50 years
The annual mileage death rate in 2015 was 1.22 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up 5 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, the annual population death rate rose by 7 percent to 11.87 deaths per 100,000 people.
August 26, 2016 – Number of deadly car accidents in Massachusetts rapidly increased
Even though only 3.3 percent more people are on the road, deadly accidents are up 20 percent
AAA president Sandra Marsian told 22News that distracted driving is one of the leading causes of accidents. “Illegally listening to your iPod player, people texting and driving, people just distracted by other things,” Marsian explained, “and that can even be just mean having other people in the car; having lively conversations while you’re driving.”
Insomnia
January 7, 2014 – Insomnia Tied to Smartphones: Harvard - Newsmax.com
September 9, 2014 – If you are buying a new iPhone, don't use it in bed — and not just because nighttime smartphone use messes up your sleep cycle.
The blue light from personal electronic devices has also been linked to serious physical and mental health problems.
The damage that this habit does to our eyes alone is both significant and surprising. Direct exposure to blue light can cause damage to the retina. The American Macular Degeneration Foundation warns that retinal damage caused by blue light may lead to macular degeneration, which causes the loss of central vision — the ability to see what's in front of you.
2. There may also be a link between cataracts and blue light, though more research is needed. Gigaom cited an eye doctor who says he's starting to see 35-year-olds with eyes that are as cloudy with cataracts as 75-year-olds. Though a single account can't prove that blue light exposure causes cataracts — this doctor just thinks there's a link, which doesn't count as evidence — the idea is being investigated. Still, studies haven't concluded anything certain yet.
3. Exposure to blue light at night can ruin sleep. Bright blue light disrupts the brain's production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle. That's fine in the morning, but our brains are supposed to start producing melatonin when we are ready for sleep, and blue light interferes with that process. That's why smartphones ruin sleep, and messing with your sleep has a long list of associated health consequences that range from obesity to genetic disruption and memory problems.
4. Sleep disturbance and "light at night" have been linked to higher cancer risk, particularly for breast and prostate cancers. In addition to helping us sleep, melatonin also functions as an antioxidant. And while more research is needed, researchers have pointed to "uninterrupted darkness" as potentially protective against cancer. People whose natural melatonin production is suppressed are at a higher risk for a variety of cancers, though a causal relationship has not been found.
5. Blue light may also take a toll on mental health. Research also shows that people whose melatonin levels are suppressed and whose body clocks are thrown off by light exposure are more prone to depression.
February 2, 2015 - Too much exposure to smartphone screens ruins your sleep, study shows
February 24, 2015 - The answer to the question "How'd you sleep?" has, for most of human history, been "not too well." Even before the advent of electric light,
September 14, 2015 - Because of this, smartphone light can disrupt your sleep cycle
October 18, 2015 - Poor sleep? We can't entirely blame our smartphones for it
September, 2016 - 5 Reasons to Take Your Smart Phone to Bed ... - Valley Sleep Center
Having trouble sleeping? Read on and learn about these smart phone apps that do just about everything except brush your teeth and tuck you in
March 24, 2016 – Cincinnati, OH - A strange rise in local infant deaths
April 8, 2016 - As white women between 25 and 55 die at spiking rates, a close look ...
A spike in mortality not seen since the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s
(‘spike’ hedges, implies it shot up, but will shoot right back down again, forming a ‘spike’ on the graph –ed)
April 16, 2016 – More exposure to vegetation linked with lower mortality rates in women
Boston, MA ─ Women in the U.S. who live in homes surrounded by more vegetation appear to have significantly lower mortality rates than those who live in areas with less vegetation, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). During an eight-year study period, there were fewer deaths among women who lived in the greenest surroundings—their mortality rate was 12% lower than those living in homes in the least green areas.
April 20, 2016 - White Women Suffered Biggest Drop In Life Expectancy In The U.S. ...
April 20, 2016 – Life Expectancy Drops For White Women, Increases For Black Men
April 22, 2016 – The suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64, jumped by 63 percent over the period of the study (from 1999 to 2014), while it rose by 43 percent for men in that age range, the sharpest increase for males of any age. The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014.
Researchers also found an alarming increase among girls 10 to 14, whose suicide rate, while still very low, had tripled. The number of girls who killed themselves rose to 150 in 2014 from 50 in 1999. “This one certainly jumped out,” said Sally Curtin, a statistician at the center and an author of the report.
Federal health researchers said they chose 1999 as the start of the period they studied because it was a low point in the national suicide rate and they wanted to cover the full period of its recent sustained rise.
Apr 22, 2016 - The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, ... The suicide rate for white women ages 45 to 64 rose 80%
May 4, 2016 – Ireland – John McManus: the great motor insurance price hike mystery
May 9, 2016 – Why is the U.S. Infant Mortality Rate So High?
May 9, 2016 – Swaddling babies is tied to heightened risk of sudden infant death ...
May 23, 2016 - Dramatic 2015 excess mortality in Italy: a 9.1% increase that needs to be explained
The Italian National Institute of Statistics released mortality data for 2015 in February, 2016. These data reported a 9.1% excess mortality compared with 2014.
These data are in line with patterns elsewhere in Europe. These data were poorly covered in the media.
Spain is in fifth place in terms of Smart Phone penetration, at 71%. 34th highest cancer rate in the world. In terms of suicide, 121st, 5.23, "low".
July 2, 2011 - Skin cancer rates in Spain rise alarmingly - Olive Press News Spain
New Zealand ranks sixth in overall Smart Phone penetration, at 70%. 13th highest cancer rate in the world. In terms of suicide, 72nd, 9.84, "medium".
Cancer
January 28, 2011 - NZ fourth in world in rate of cancer | Stuff.co.nz
Melanoma
Mar 31, 2016 - New Zealand now has the highest rate of melanoma skin cancer in the world – eclipsing Australia as the most dangerous place to be exposed
The United Kingdom is seven on the list of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 68%. 23rd highest cancer rate in the world. 103, 6.28, "low".
Melanoma
UK skin cancer death rates worse than Australia | Daily Mail Online
(That New Zealand melanoma data, above, means we've learned that the second, third and sixth highest Smart Phone penetration nations in the world have the first and second and third highest melanoma rates in the world. -ed)
Mortality
February 16, 2016 – U.K. - England and Wales show a five per cent increase in mortality rates in just one year
"The statistics clearly show that this is the biggest rise we have seen since the 1960s. But this may well turn out to be the greatest rise since the second world war, taking into account the sustained nature of the rise…”
Canada is the eighth highest nation in terms of overall Smart Phone penetration, at 67%. 12th highest cancer rate in the world. In terms of suicide, 70th, 10.0, "medium".
May 28, 2014 - Melanoma: deadliest type of skin cancer is on the rise
In Canadian men, the melanoma incidence rate increased 2% per year between 1986 and 2010, from 9 to 15 cases per 100,000. The death rate has increased by 1.2% per year.
March 2, 2017 - Why are colon cancer rates in Gen Xers and millennials in Canada rising?
Chile has the ninth-highest Smart Phone penetration, and the highest of all the South American nations, at 65%. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence. In terms of suicide, 49th, 12.21, "medium".
2010 - Chile has a medium-to-high skin cancer mortality rate. Previous studies have shown an increasing rate of skin cancer mortality
And, lastly, in tenth place, Malaysia, with 65%. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence. In terms of suicide, 150th, 2.98, "low."
February 18, 2014 - The incidence of cancer in Malaysia increased from 32,000 new cases in 2008 to 37,400 in 2012. (a 16.8% increase, they printed the numbers, but withheld the percentage, as printing it would have been more impactful. I had to do the math. -ed)
June 11, 2016 - Skin cancer on the rise – a worrying trend – BorneoPost Online ...
The bottom ten smart phone penetration nations
31 Peru 25%
In terms of suicide rate, Peru is 126th out of 172 countries, in the "very low" category, with a rate of 3.23. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
32 Philippines 22%
July 17, 2015 - The figures in the Philippines are lower than the annual global age-standardized suicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000 population
The Philippines rank 153rd out of 172 countries, in the "very low" category in terms of suicide rate, at 2.94. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
33 Ghana 21%
Ghana is just one position higher than the Philippines, at 152nd, in the "very low" category, with a rate of 2.97. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
September 11, 2016 - More youth committing suicide in Ghana, media blamed for it | 3News
March 16, 2017 - Suicide helpline gets busy as Ghana is gripped by surge in deaths ...
34 Indonesia 21%
Indonesia's suicide rate is 137 out of 172 countries, in the "very low" category, at 4.22. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
35 Senegal 19%
Senegal's side rate is 124 out of 172 countries, in the "low" category, at 5.03. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
36 India 17%
India ranks 12th out of 172 countries in terms of suicide rate, in the "High" category, at 21.21. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
This is anomalous, so far, in this lower data set. Could it be that India's overall technology consumption is such that the suicide needle is moved in this way, despite the relatively low Smart Phone penetration? There are also many other influencers - social, cultural, etc. - so we're just looking for the broadest trends, here.
April 29, 2015 – Depression kills too many people in India but smartphones can help ...
April 12, 2016 - Why are India's housewives killing themselves? - BBC News
August 12, 2016 - Suicide deaths in India increasing at alarming rate - Humanosphere
Suicide rates in India are climbing faster than in the rest of the world with Indian women having some of the highest rates on the planet
37 Burkina Faso 14%
Burkina Faso, back on trend, ranks 128th in terms of suicide rate, close to the bottom of the "low" category, at 4.54. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
38 Pakistan 11%
Ranks 83rd out of 172 countries, in the "medium" category, at 9.16. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
June 8, 2012 - The alarming rise of teenage suicides in Pakistan - Pakistan - DAWN ...
Girls are under more stress all over the world including Pakistan and making a suicide attempt is a sign of extreme distress, experts say.
February 5, 2016 - In last 25 years, Pakistan has witnessed a significant increase in number of cases of various kinds of cancers
39 Tanzania 11%
10th, in the "High" category, at 23.34 - another outlier. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
2017 - Experts worried over rising suicidal rate in Tanzania - Panapress
40 Ethiopia 4%
62nd, in the "medium" category, at 10.89. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
41 Uganda 4%
Ranks 17th, in the "High" category, in terms of suicide rate, at 18.67. Not in the top 50 nations in terms of cancer incidence.
Changing cancer incidence in Kampala, Uganda, 1991-2006
There has been an overall increase in cancer during the period in both sexes...
Now I'm going to go back through this thread and add data from previous posts...
October 22, 2015 – The mystery behind Japan’s high suicide rate among kids
As the suicide rate surges among Japanese schoolchildren, no one is able to offer a clear solution to the alarming phenomenon
May 26, 2015 - Experts puzzled by sudden rise in Russia's mortality rate
May 23, 2016 - Dramatic 2015 excess mortality in Italy: a 9.1% increase that needs to be explained
The Italian National Institute of Statistics released mortality data for 2015 in February, 2016. These data reported a 9.1% excess mortality compared with 2014.
These data are in line with patterns elsewhere in Europe. These data were poorly covered in the media.
June 23, 2016 – Concern over unexpected increase in Scottish mortality rates - The ...
August 31, 2016 – South Africa - Infant mortality has risen to 60 per 1 000 live births, compared to the 1998 figure of 45 per 1,000. (A 33% increase, article won’t print the percentage increase)
May 23, 2016 - Dramatic 2015 excess mortality in Italy: a 9.1% increase that needs to be explained
The Italian National Institute of Statistics released mortality data for 2015 in February, 2016. These data reported a 9.1% excess mortality compared with 2014.
These data are in line with patterns elsewhere in Europe. These data were poorly covered in the media.