Electromagnetic Field Exposure and (Spontaneous) Abortion in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Electromagnetic Field Exposure and (Spontaneous) Abortion in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Irani M, Aradmehr M, Ghorbani M, Baghani R. Electromagnetic Field Exposure and Abortion in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Malays J Med Sci. 2023;30(5):70-80. doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.5.6 Abstract This study examined the effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) on pregnancy and the risk of miscarriage. We performed a systematic search for relevant studies published to August 2021 in the medical databases of PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library. The following key terms were used: ‘electromagnetic field,’ ‘mobile phones,’ ‘mobile phone base stations,’ ‘watching TV,’ ‘using Internet,’ ‘miscarriage,’ ‘abortions,’ ‘spontaneous abortion,’ ‘early abortion’ and ‘late abortion’. All case–control and cohort studies that investigated the effect of EMF exposure on the risk of miscarriage were included without any restriction of language or time. Statistical analyses were done using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 2.0). A random-effects model was performed to calculate the overall effect size. A primary search revealed a total of 982 relevant studies; six articles (N = 3,187 participants) met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The results of the random-effects meta-analysis indicated that EMF exposure had a significant effect on miscarriage: rate ratio (RR) = 1.699; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.121, 2.363 (P < 0.001); and heterogeneity (I2) = 84.55% (P < 0.001). The findings showed that pregnant women who were exposed to high levels of EMF had an increased risk of miscarriage. Excerpts This systematic review and meta-analysis study was performed to investigate the effects that exposure to EMF during pregnancy had on the risk of spontaneous abortion. Six articles were included in the meta-analysis; five studies confirmed the effect of exposure to electromagnetic waves on spontaneous abortion (25–30). The study by Abad et al. (27) indicated that, although women who were exposed to significant levels of electromagnetic waves had a high risk of miscarriage, the relationship was not confirmed by the Wald test. The lack of evidence may have been related to the small sample size of the study (27). The present meta-analysis study showed that the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women who were exposed to EMF was 1.69 times higher than the risk for women who were not exposed. Ebadi et al. (31) showed that there was a significant relationship between exposure to low-frequency EMF (i.e. 3 Hz–3000 Hz) generated from sources in the home and the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women at < 14 weeks gestation. The researchers also found that the duration of mobile phone use during the day and the intervals between mobile phone use were associated with the risk of miscarriage (31). ... Different studies have reported conflicting results in terms of the duration of exposure and the risk of abortion. For example, Li et al. (28) found strong evidence that exposure to a magnetic field over 16 mG may be associated with a risk of miscarriage. Their study showed that the RR associated with a magnetic field exposure of 16 mG was 2.2 (95% CI: 1.2, 4.0). The researchers also showed that the risk of miscarriage from exposure to magnetic waves was greater in early pregnancy (< 10 weeks) because the foetus was more sensitive to environmental factors (28). In their case–control study, Lee et al. (29) found that exposure to high and frequent magnetic fields increased the risk of abortion in pregnant women enrolled in a medical care system in Northern California. The researchers stated that the risk of abortion increased with exposures above the 50th percentile level in the environment (29). In another study, researchers looked at mobile phone use and the risk of abortion in two groups of women: the case group of women had a spontaneous abortion at < 14 weeks and the control group of women were > 14 weeks gestation. They found that the average duration of mobile phone contact during the day, the location of the phone when not in use, the use of the phone for other applications, the specific absorption rate (SAR) and the mean effective SAR were significantly different between the two groups (26). Open access paper: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

This systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis (6 studies; N=3,187) reported that EMF exposure was associated with a higher risk of miscarriage (RR=1.699; 95% CI: 1.121–2.363) with substantial heterogeneity (I2=84.55%). The authors conclude that pregnant women exposed to high levels of EMF had an increased risk of miscarriage.

Outcomes measured

• Miscarriage
• Spontaneous abortion
• Early abortion
• Late abortion

Limitations

• Only six studies met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis.
• Substantial heterogeneity across included studies (I2=84.55%).
• Included evidence was limited to case–control and cohort studies (observational designs).
• Exposure sources and metrics varied across studies (e.g., low-frequency home sources, magnetic field levels, mobile phone use/SAR).
• One included study noted a lack of confirmation by the Wald test, possibly due to small sample size (as described in the excerpt).

Suggested hubs

• cell-phones (0.78)
  Search terms and included studies referenced mobile phone use and SAR in relation to miscarriage risk.

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    "publication_year": 2023,
    "study_type": "meta_analysis",
    "exposure": {
        "band": null,
        "source": "Multiple (mobile phones, mobile phone base stations, TV, Internet, home sources)",
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        "duration": null
    },
    "population": "Pregnant women",
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    "outcomes": [
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    "effect_direction": "harm",
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        "Only six studies met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis.",
        "Substantial heterogeneity across included studies (I2=84.55%).",
        "Included evidence was limited to case–control and cohort studies (observational designs).",
        "Exposure sources and metrics varied across studies (e.g., low-frequency home sources, magnetic field levels, mobile phone use/SAR).",
        "One included study noted a lack of confirmation by the Wald test, possibly due to small sample size (as described in the excerpt)."
    ],
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    "summary": "This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed whether EMF exposure during pregnancy is associated with miscarriage risk. Six observational studies (N=3,187) were included, and the pooled random-effects estimate reported a higher miscarriage risk among exposed women (RR=1.699) with high heterogeneity. The authors interpret the findings as indicating increased miscarriage risk with higher EMF exposure levels.",
    "key_points": [
        "Systematic searches were conducted across multiple databases up to August 2021.",
        "Only cohort and case–control studies were included in the meta-analysis.",
        "Six studies (3,187 participants) met inclusion criteria from an initial 982 records.",
        "The pooled random-effects meta-analysis reported an association between EMF exposure and miscarriage (RR=1.699).",
        "Between-study heterogeneity was substantial (I2=84.55%).",
        "Exposure sources mentioned included home low-frequency fields and mobile phone-related metrics (including SAR) in some studies.",
        "The review describes some inconsistency across studies regarding exposure duration and miscarriage risk."
    ],
    "categories": [
        "Pregnancy & Reproductive Health",
        "Epidemiology",
        "Risk Assessment"
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    "tags": [
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        "Spontaneous Abortion",
        "Pregnancy",
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}

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