Septiembre 2009

Epidemiologic evidence of radiofrequency fields emitted from mobile phone and risk of brain and head tumors

The authors provide a review on the latest epidemiologic data of mobile phone use and the risk of brain tumors. The review includes interpretation of key methodological biases, results of long-term users, and the possible association between mobile phone use and different type of tumors. They conclude, that overall, the studies available so far do not demonstrate an elevated risk for 10 years of use for any type of tumors. For tumor types known to be slow-growing, they report that the association is not confirmed because more long-term data is needed before any conclusion can be taken.

Ahlbom A, Feychting M, Green A, Kheifets L, Savitz DA, Swerdlow AJ, ICNIRP (International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) Standing Committee on Epidemiology. Epidemiologic evidence on mobile phones and tumor risk: a review. Epidemiology 20(5):639-652.

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Effect of mobile phone use on cognitive functions in adolescents noted in Australian study.

The objective of the Australian cross-sectional epidemiologic study was to assess how mobile phone use would affect cognitive functions in adolescents. A total of 317 students participated in the study and completed a mobile phone exposure questionnaire followed by a number of cognitive tests. Exposure was considered as the total number of calls per week and linear regression analyses were done testing for response times and accuracies for cognitive tasks. Results indicate that adolescents reporting more phone calls had shorter reaction times but poor accuracy in cognitive tasks performed. The results were similar for total short message service (SMS) suggesting that these cognitive changes were unlikely due to radiofrequency (RF) exposure. The authors concluded that mobile phone use was associated with faster and less accurate responding to higher level cognitive tasks.

Abramson MJ, Benke GP, Dimitriadis C, Inyang IO, Sim MR, Wolfe RS, Croft RJ. Mobile telephone use is associated with changes in cognitive function in young adolescents. Bioelectromagnetics. Jul 30, 2009 Ahead of print.

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No association found between socioeconomic status (SES) and mobile telecommunication networks in children and adolescents.

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between SES and measured radiofrequency field  (RF) exposure with a personal exposimeter to mobile phone networks in children and adolescents. Data from the German MobilEe-study including 1,481 children and 1,505 adolescents, on mobile phone use, socio-demographic information used to categorize individuals into low, middle, and high SES were included in this analysis. Results indicate that children and adolescents with a low SES were more likely to own a mobile phone and children but not adolescents reported longer phone usage per day than children in the high SES category. The authors did not find any association between SES and measured RF exposure to mobile telecommunication networks both for children and adolescents.

Thomas S, Heinrich S, Kühnlein A, Radon K. The association between socioeconomic status and exposure to mobile telecommunication networks in children and adolescents. Bioelectromagnetics. Jul 13, 2009 Ahead of print.

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No health effects of CDMA phones on physiological parameters or subjective symptoms in volunteer groups

The objective of the study was to investigate electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) from exposure to CDMA phones in a sham-controlled provocation study. Two volunteer groups of 18 self-reported EHS and 19 non-EHS participants were exposed to both sham and real radiofrequency field (RF) exposure from CDMA mobile phones with a 300 mW maximum exposure during 30 minutes. The authors looked at physiological parameters such as heart rate, respiration rate, and heart rate variability (HRV), numerous subjective symptoms and the EMF perception. The authors concluded that the RF exposure did not produce any effects on physiological parameters or subjective symptoms tested in either EHS or non-EHS individuals. Results for EMF perception did not indicate that the EHS group was better to perceive EMF than the non-EHS group.

Nam KC, Lee JH, Noh HW, Cha EJ, Kim NH, Kim DW. Hypersensitivity to RF fields emitted from CDMA cellular phones: A provocation study. Bioelectromagnetics. Jun 23, 2009 Ahead of print.

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Exposure to GSM mobile phones did not affect the transmission of sensory stimuli along the auditory nerve in healthy adults.

The objective of the study was to investigate the health effects of GSM mobile phones on brainstem auditory processes. The authors recruited 17 healthy young adults and measured auditory brainstem responses at baseline, and with a mobile phone to the ear either turned on or off, to compare all 3 conditions. Auditory brainstem response waveforms were not significantly different after GSM exposure. It was suggested by the authors that short-term radiofrequency field (RF) exposure to mobile phone did not change the transmission of sensory stimuli from the cochlea up to the midbrain along the auditory nerve and brainstem auditory pathways.

Kwon MS, Jääskeläinen SK, Toivo T, Hämäläinen H. No effects of mobile phone electromagnetic field on auditory brainstem response. Bioelectromagnetics. Jul 16, 2009 Ahead of print.

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UMTS short-term exposure of mobile phones does not cause any immediate effects on the human auditory system.

The objective of the study was to assess the health effects of short-term UMTS mobile phone exposure in human auditory functions. A total of 134 healthy young adults had auditory function evaluated with numerous tests before and after real and sham exposure to mobile phone in the exposed ear. Results indicate that 20 minutes UMTS mobile phone exposure (69 mW/kg SAR) had no consistent pattern of effects on the auditory system in adults. The authors concluded that UMTS short-term exposure at the maximum output power of mobile phones did not cause immediate effects on the human auditory system.

Parazzini M, Sibella F, Lutman ME, Mishra S, Moulin A, Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Woznicka E, Politanski P, Zmyslony M, Thuroczy G, Molnár F, Kubinyi G, Tavartkiladze G, Bronyakin S, Uloziene I, Uloza V, Gradauskiene E, Ravazzani P. (2009). Effects of UMTS cellular phones on human hearing: Results of the European project “EMFnEAR”. Radiat Res. 172(2):244-251.

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Study of individual exposure to environmental radiofrequency fields (RF) using personal exposure meter in France.

The objective of the study was to assess RF exposure in 377 randomly selected individuals representing the French general population and to identify the proportion of different sources of exposure. Participants wore a personal exposimeter for 24 hours and completed a time-location-activity diary. Results indicate that recorded field strength could not be detected because of low levels for the majority of the time. Sources such as total field, cordless phones, WiFi-microwave, and FM transmitters had a proportion above the detection threshold of 46.6%, 17.2%, 14.1%, and 11.0%, respectively. The total field mean value was 0.201V/m. It was higher in urban areas, during daytime, among adults, and when moving. The authors noted that a number of factors did contribute to a high variability in RF exposure. They concluded that their population-based estimates must be replicated by other studies in different microenvironments.

Viel JF, Cardis E, Moissonnier M, de Seze R, Hours M. Radiofrequency exposure in the French general population: Band, time, location and activity variability.  Environ Int. Aug 3, 2009 Ahead of print.

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SAR values for hardware modified phones are well below ICNIRP limits for the general public; tilts influence SAR more than rotations.

The objective of the study was to describe the calibration of hardware modified phones (HMPs) for exposure assessment and dosimetry and also investigate if they were compliant with Australian and international standards. The calibration was performed with HMPs on human head phantoms followed by measuring SAR at 900 and 1800 MHz bands on right and left sides of the phantom. At 900 MHz the maximum SAR obtained with HMPs at the touch position was 0.9 W/kg and 0.4 W/kg at 30 degrees tilt. For 1800 MHz, SAR at the touch and 30 degrees tilts were 1.1 W/kg and 1.3 W/kg respectively. The authors concluded that tilts influenced SAR more than rotations and SAR values for 900 and 1800 MHz for the HMPs were well below ICNIRP limits and compliant with international standards.

Inyang I, Benke G, McKenzie R, Abramson M. (2009). Use of hardware modified phones for exposure assessment in health studies in Australia: verification of compliance with standards. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med. 32(2):62-67.

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Radiation level four times higher than standard in a region of Turkey.

The objective of study was to assess the level of radiofrequency fields in Ankara, Turkey which has 64 TV and radio towers in addition to 1 mobile phone base station. Results indicate that technical input data from 31 transmitters for this pilot region had an estimated radiation level almost four times higher than established standards in Turkey.

Sirav B, Seyhan N. Radio frequency radiation (RFR) from TV and radio transmitters at a pilot region in Turkey. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. Aug 11, 2009 Ahead of print.

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Results suggest that cochlear tissues unlikely to be affected by radiofrequency fields emitted by mobile phones.

The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of a cochlear implant (CI), an electronic device used to restore partial hearing for patients with severe hearing impairment, on the SAR distribution in a head model exposed to radiofrequency fields (RF) emitted by mobile phones. Exposure source was a plane wave at 900 MHz, 1,750 MHz, and 1,950 MHz. Results indicate that cochlear implant inside the cochlea minimally affects variations in the averaged SAR values. The authors concluded that their results indicate that finding detrimental effects in the cochlear tissues is very unlikely.

Sibella F, Parazzini M, Paglialonga A, Ravazzani P. (2009). Assessment of SAR in the tissues near a cochlear implant exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Phys Med Biol. 54(8):N135-141.

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The relation between the incident electromagnetic field strength and both whole-body and local specific absorption rate (SAR).

Neubauer G, Preiner P, Cecil S, Mitrevski N, Gonter J, Garn H. The relation between the specific absorption rate and electromagnetic field intensity for heterogeneous exposure conditions at mobile communications frequencies. Bioelectromagnetics. Jun 23, 2009 Ahead of print.

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Radiofrequency does not activate microglial cells in vitro.

The aim of the study was to assess whether 900 MHz radiofrequency fields could affect rat astroglial and the microglial cells in culture. The data do not provide evidence for any effect of the irradiation used on damage-related factors in glial cells in vitro.

Hirose H, Sasaki A, Ishii N, Sekijima M, Iyama T, Nojima T, Ugawa Y. 1950 MHz IMT-2000 field does not activate microglial cells in vitro. Bioelectromagnetics 31 Jul 2009 Ahead of print.

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Impact of radiofrequency fields on fertility in humans.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of radiofrequency fields on the cell biology (e.g. oxidative stress, DNA damage) of human spermatozoa in vitro. The results show that radiofrequency fields at both the power density and frequency range of mobile phones enhances mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation in human spermatozoa, decreasing the sperm motility and sperm vitality while stimulating DNA fragmentation. These data shows clear implications for the safety of extensive mobile phone use by males of reproductive age.

De Iuliis GN, Newey RJ, King BV, Aitken RJ. (2009). Mobile phone radiation induces reactive oxygen species production and DNA damage in human spermatozoa in vitro. PLoS One. 4(7):e6446.

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Radiofrequency fields from mobile phones negatively affect semen quality and may impair male fertility.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of radiofrequency fields from mobile phones on free radical metabolism and sperm quality in reproductive tissue of rats. No significant difference was found in total sperm count between the control group and the exposed group. However, exposed rats exhibited a significantly reduced percentage of motile sperms.

Mailankot M, Kunnath AP, Jayalekshmi H, Koduru B, Valsalan R. (2009). Radio frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) from GSM (0.9/1.8GHz) mobile phones induces oxidative stress and reduces sperm motility in rats. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 64(6):561-565.

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Effects of radiofrequency fields on the neurological system

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of radiofrequency fields from GSM mobile phones on the electrical activity of a pig brain at exposure levels above those accepted for human testing. The results indicate that the exposure does not produce sensory stimulation of somatosensory, auditory or visual system or directly affects the brain so as to produce EEG bursts during suppression.

Lipping T, Rorarius M, Jäntti V, Annala K, Mennander A, Ferenets R, Toivonen T, Toivo T, Värri A, Korpinen L. Using nonlinear control of anaesthesia-induced hypersensitivity of EEG at burst suppression level to test the effects of radiofrequency radiation on brain function. Nonlinear Biomed Phys. Jul 18, 2009 Ahead of print.

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Systematic review indicates that symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitive sufferers are not triggered by EMF exposure.
This systematic review is an update to an earlier review on electromagnetic hypersensitivity. A total of 46 blind or double-blind provocation studies were included. The authors concluded that no robust evidence was found to support the reported illness know as electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
Rubin GJ, Nieto-Hernandez R, Wessely S. Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (formerly 'electromagnetic hypersensitivity'): An updated systematic review of provocation studies. Bioelectromagnetics. Aug 13, 2009. Ahead of print.

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Overview provides little epidemiologic evidence that mobile phone use causes adverse health effects.

Samkange-Zeeb F, Blettner M. (2009). Emerging aspects of mobile phone use. Emerging Health Threats Journal. 2:e5.

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Rothman KJ. (2009). Health effects of mobile telephones. Epidemiology Comment on: 20(5):653-655.

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Lerchl A, Bornkessel C. Letter to the Editor on “Effects of exposure to a mobile phone on testicular function and structure in adult rabbit” by Salama et al. Int J Androl. Aug 10, 2009 Ahead of print.

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Salama N, Kishimoto T, Kanayama HO. Authors response on Letter to the Editor on “Effects of exposure to a mobile phone on testicular function and structure in adult Rabbit” by Salama et al. Int J Androl. Aug 10, 2009 Ahead of print.

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