THE EFFECT OF HABITUALLY CARRYING MOBILE PHONES IN TROUSER POCKETS ON URINE PROTEIN TEST RESULTS IN GORONTALO CITY

Abstrak

The widespread use of mobile phones has increased concerns regarding the potential health effects of prolonged exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, particularly among individuals who habitually carry mobile phones in their trouser pockets. This study aimed to determine the effect of this habit on urine protein examination results in Gorontalo City. A quantitative analytic study with a cross-sectional design was conducted at the BIOZIGMA Laboratory, Gorontalo City, from 4–6 September 2023. Thirty male students from Universitas Bina Mandiri Gorontalo were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires assessing the duration of carrying mobile phones in trouser pockets and laboratory examination of urine protein using the dipstick method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, followed by the Shapiro–Wilk normality test and the Mann–Whitney U test with a significance level of 0.05. Most respondents (76.7%) reported carrying their mobile phones for at least two hours daily, while 30.0% showed positive urine protein results. Normality testing indicated that the data were not normally distributed (p < 0.05). The Mann–Whitney U test yielded a p-value of 0.052, indicating no statistically significant effect of carrying mobile phones in trouser pockets on urine protein examination results. These findings suggest that habitual storage of mobile phones in trouser pockets was not associated with proteinuria among healthy young adult males. Nevertheless, further studies involving larger sample sizes, longer exposure periods, and additional renal biomarkers are recommended to better understand the potential long-term effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on kidney function.