November 2009

Results of a meta-analysis of mobile phone use and tumor risk conducted in 2008

The authors investigated whether mobile phone use was linked to tumor risk in a meta-analysis of 23 case-control studies published up to August 2008.  A total of 37,916 participants were part of the meta-analysis. The results, produced by two evaluators who were independent, showed for a random-effects meta-analysis no risk for overall risk (odds ratio (OR)=0.98; 95% CI, 0.89-1.07). For use of 10 years or longer, mobile phone was associated with tumor risks in 13 studies (OR=1.18; 95% CI, 1.04-1.34). The authors concluded that their study found a possible link between mobile phone use and increased tumor risk for low-biased case-control studies. They indicate that prospective cohort studies are needed because they have a higher level of evidence.

Myung SK, Ju W, McDonnell DD, Lee YJ, Kazinets G, Cheng CT, Moskowitz JM. Mobile phone use and risk of tumors: A meta-analysis. J Clin Oncol. Ahead of print Oct 13, 2009.

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Mobile phone use by young people in hospital setting: benefits and risks of use.

The objective of the survey was to obtain information on the mobile phone use by young people in a hospital setting and also collect the views from nurses and patients themselves about the benefits of using mobile phones. The qualitative experiment was conducted with 50 young people admitted to the district general hospital for four consecutive weeks. The patients and 9 nurses answered a different questionnaire. Results indicate that the majority of young people had access to a mobile phone while in hospital, 30% were informed they were allowed to make calls, 75% of those did make calls or sent text messages. All nurses indicated that they found it useful for young people to use their mobile phone to keep contact with their contacts. The authors concluded that because young people have different social needs than younger children, flexible guidelines should be considered for mobile phone use in hospital by these patients as the advantages of permitting mobile phone use outweigh the potential risks.

Bell J, Finlay F, Baverstock A. (2009). Mobile phone use on a young person’s unit. Paediatr Nurs. 21(7): 14-18.

For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
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Study shows no effect of mobile phone close to the heart in heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiac electrical activity in humans
The objective of the study was to assess whether mobile phone placed close to the heart would affect cardiac electrical activity in a prospective study of 24 healthy volunteers. Heart rate variability, electrocardiogram (ECG), and blood pressure were used as indicators for changes in heart function. Initially, ECG and blood pressure were recorded in 3 conditions: without mobile phone close to heart, mobile phone (off), and mobile phone ringing. Afterwards, recordings were done for 30 minutes with and without mobile phone close to the heart. Results indicate that no parameters were statistically significantly different when analyzing the different conditions and settings (on or off). The authors concluded mobile phone had no effect on heart rate and blood pressure as well as cardiac electrical activity in a healthy adult population.

Tamer A, Gündüz H, Ozyildirim S. (2009). The cardiac effects of a mobile phone positioned closest to the heart. Anadolu Kardiyol Derg. 9(5):380-4.

For more see “Research – clinical – cardiovascular”
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Bone mineral density slightly lower in EMF exposed compared to non-exposed group but not as low as osteopeny or osteoporosis cases.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of radiofrequency fields (RF) at 900 and 1800 MHz emitted from mobile phones on the bone mineral density of the human iliac bone (hip). A total of 150 male volunteers of average age of 32 years were put in 2 groups based on hip side exposed to RF (group 1) and unexposed side (group 2). Participants carried their mobile phone on their hip for about 15 hours and mean duration of phone use was 6 years. The results of the mean dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry values from the exposed group 1 were a little lower than the values from group 2 although not statistically significant between the groups. The authors concluded that data may suggest we take into consideration mobile phone use when iliac bone graft is performed in clinical practice possibly improving the outcome.

Atay T, Aksoy BA, Aydogan NH, Baydar ML, Yildiz M, Ozdemir R. (2009). Effect of electromagnetic field induced by radio frequency waves at 900 to 1800 MHz on bone mineral density of iliac bone wings. J Craniofac Surg. 20(5):1556-60.

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EMF exposure measurements in bedrooms well below International Commission (ICNIRP) guideline levels.

The objective of the survey was to assess total electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure (electrostatic fields, extremely low-frequency electric fields (ELF-EFs), extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs), and RF-EMFs) at bedside in 226 households in Lower Austria. Exposure reduction measures were also assessed. Measurements were all considerably below the ICNIRP guideline levels. Results indicate the highest ELF-EFs were because of lamps beside the bed, the highest ELF-MFs because of transformers of devices, power lines, the highest RF-EMFs because of DECT and mobile phone base stations.

Tomitsch J, Dechant E, Frank M. Survey of electromagnetic field exposure in bedrooms of residences in lower Austria. Bioelectromagnetics. Ahead of print. Sep 24, 2009.

For more see “Research – exposure assessment”
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Geospatial model predicting the radiofrequency fields exposure from fixed mobile phone, radio and television site transmitters

The objective of the study was to modify an existing model to include indoor exposure and predict radiofrequency field exposure in epidemiologic studies from a number of site transmitters. The current model is estimated from accurate parameters of all mobile phone base stations, radio broadcast and television located in an urban and suburban region of Basel, Switzerland. The accuracy of the model was determined by correlations and kappa statistics between values from the model and real measurements at street level, volunteers’ home, and at the front of home windows. The results indicated correlation coefficients were 0.64 (street), 0.66 (indoor), and 0.67 (window). The authors concluded that the accuracy of the model, indoor or outdoor, is comparable although it required important simplifications.

Bürgi A, Frei P, Theis G, Mohler E, Braun-Fahrländer C, Fröhlich J, Neubauer G, Egger M, Röösli M. A model for radiofrequency electromagnetic field predictions at outdoor and indoor locations in the context of epidemiological research. Bioelectromagnetics. Ahead of print. Oct 15, 2009.

For more see “Research – exposure assessment”
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Prediction model for personal RF-EMF exposure feasible and useful to evaluate average exposure over several months.

The objective of the research was to produce a prediction model for average RF-EMF exposure from various sources to use with large population in epidemiologic investigations. Personal RF-EMF exposure measurements during 1 week were obtained by personal exposimeters from 166 volunteers from Basel, Switzerland. Results were validated with repeated exposure measurements of 31 study participants 21 weeks after the initial measurements. Relevant exposure predictors for the model included the modeled RF-EMF at the participants' home from the propagation model, housing characteristics, ownership of communication devices (wireless LAN, mobile and cordless phones) and behavioral aspects such as amount of time spent in public transports. Agreement between calculated and measured RF-EMF had a sensitivity of 0.56 and a specificity of 0.95. The authors concluded they could demonstrate the feasibility to model personal RF-EMF exposure and that the model could be useful to determine average RF exposure over several months.

Frei P, Mohler E, Bürgi A, Fröhlich J, Neubauer G, Braun-Fahrländer C, Röösli M; the QUALIFEX team. A prediction model for personal radio frequency electromagnetic field exposure. Sci Total Environ. Ahead of print. Oct 9, 2009.

For more see “Research – exposure assessment”
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Electromagnetic field exposure may lead to abnormal brain functioning

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation on the subject's mood and ability to learn. Experimentally, they found no significant differences in the spatial memory test, and morphological assessment of the brain also yielded non-significant differences between the groups. However, in some exposed animals, there were decreased locomotor activity, increased grooming and a tendency of increased basal corticosterone levels.

Daniels WM, Pitout IL, Afullo TJ, Mabandla MV. The effect of electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone range on the behavior of the rat. Metab Brain Dis. Ahead of print. Oct 13, 2009.

For more see “Research – laboratory – brain function”
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GSM signal may affect the DNA integrity

The authors previously reported that a 1 hour exposure to amplitude-modulated 1.8 GHz sinusoidal waves (GSM-217Hz, SAR=2W/kg) did not cause increased levels of primary DNA damage in human trophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cells. In the present work, a similar signal induced a significant increase in comet parameters in trophoblast cells after 16 and 24 hours of exposure, while the un-modulated continuous wave was ineffective. The results suggest that a high frequency carrier and modulation scheme typical of the GSM signal may affect the DNA integrity. 

Franzellitti S, Valbonesi P, Ciancaglini N, Biondi C, Contin A, Bersani F, Fabbri E. Transient DNA damage induced by high frequency electromagnetic fields (GSM 1.8 GHz) in the human trophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cell line evaluated with the alkaline Comet assay. Mutat Res. Ahead of print. Oct 9, 2009.

For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer studies”
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Impact of radiofrequency radiation on DNA damage and repair

In this study, a comet assay was used to determine whether 1.8-GHz radiofrequency(RF) radiation at SAR of 2 W/kg can influence DNA repair in human B-cell lymphoblastoid cells exposed to doxorubicin (DOX) at various doses. The results demonstrated that RF radiation could not directly induce DNA damage of human B-cell lymphoblastoid cells but DOX could significantly induce DNA damage of human B-cell lymphoblastoid cells with a dose-effect relationship.

Zhijian C, Xiaoxue L, Yezhen L, Shijie C, Lifen J, Jianlin L, Deqiang L, Jiliang H. Impact of 1.8-GHz radiofrequency radiation (RFR) on DNA damage and repair induced by doxorubicin in human B-cell lymphoblastoid cells. Mutat Res.  Ahead of print. Oct 12, 2009.

For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer studies”
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Does radiofrequency radiation affect sperm head abnormalities?

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation from GSM base stations on the induction of sperm head abnormalities in mice. The exposure of male mice to RF radiation at a workplace and in a residential environment caused 39% and 46% sperm head abnormalities, respectively, compared to 2% in the control group.

Otitoloju AA, Obe IA, Adewale OA, Otubanjo OA, Osunkalu VO. Preliminary study on the induction of sperm head abnormalities in mice, Mus musculus, exposed to radiofrequency radiations from Global System for Mobile communication base stations. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. Ahead of print. Oct 9, 2009.

For more see “Research – laboratory – reproduction”
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Radiofrequency signals could affect the functional capacity of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells

The objective of this study was to analyze the changes in the cell viability, rates of apoptosis, proliferation indices and the cell surface antigenic structures resulting from exposure of mononuclear cells to 450, 900 and 1784 MHz radiofrequency (RF) radiation. The results suggest that RF signals could affect the functional capacity of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells by changing their adhesion ability.

Atasoy A, Sevim Y, Kaya I, Yilmaz M, Durmus A, Sonmez M, Omay SB, Ozdemir F, Ovali E. (2009). The effects of electromagnetic fields on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. Bratisl Lek Listy. 110(9):526-9.

For more see “Research – laboratory – immune system”
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