Systematic review of the physiological and health-related effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure from wireless communication devices on children and adolescents in experimental and epidemiological human studies

Abstract

Systematic review of the physiological and health-related effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure from wireless communication devices on children and adolescents in experimental and epidemiological human studies Bodewein L, Dechent D, Graefrath D, Kraus T, Krause T, Driessen S (2022) Systematic review of the physiological and health-related effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure from wireless communication devices on children and adolescents in experimental and epidemiological human studies. PLoS ONE 17(6): e0268641. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268641. Abstract Background For more than 20 years, the potential health risks of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) exposure from mobile communication devices on children and adolescents have been examined because they are considered sensitive population groups; however, it remains unclear whether such exposure poses any particular risk to them. Objectives The aim of this review was to systematically analyze and evaluate the physiological and health- related effects of RF EMF exposures from wireless communication devices (mobile phones, cordless phones, Bluetooth, etc.) on children and adolescents. Methods This review was prepared according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Methodological limitations in individual studies were assessed using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) Risk-of-Bias Rating Tool for Human and Animal Studies. Results A total of 42 epidemiological and 11 experimental studies were eligible for this review. Most of the studies displayed several methodological weaknesses that limited the internal validity of the results. Due to a lack of consistency regarding the outcomes as well as the lack of scientific rigor in most reviewed studies, the body of evidence for the effects of RF EMF of mobile communication devices on subjective symptoms, cognition, and behavior in children and adolescents was low to inadequate. Evidence from the studies investigating early childhood development, brain activity, cancer, and physiological parameters was considered inadequate for drawing conclusions about possible effects. Discussion Overall, the body of evidence allows no final conclusion on the question whether exposure to RF EMF from mobile communication devices poses a particular risk to children and adolescents. There has been rapid development in technologies generating RF EMF, which are extensively used by children and adolescents. Therefore, we strongly recommend high-quality systematic research on children and adolescents, since they are generally considered as sensitive age groups. Excerpts "From a total of 42 epidemiological studies, 10 studies found consistent associations between mobile phone exposure and health effects on children and adolescents, 23 studies found limited associations, and 9 studies did not find any consistent associations (Fig 4) In summary, the evidence for physiological and health-related effects of mobile communication RF EMF (mobile phones, wireless phones, WLAN, Bluetooth, etc.) on children and adolescents was rated as low to inadequate overall, based on the included epidemiological studies in this review." "Out of a total of 11 experimental studies, 3 of them including a total of 116 children and adolescents found an effect of mobile phone exposure on brain activity and cognition, whereas the remaining 8 studies, with a total of 222 children and adolescents, could not identify any effects (Fig 4) As the experimental studies included in this review only investigated acute and short-term effects, no conclusion can be drawn regarding potential long- term effects. In summary, the evidence from the included experimental studies is inadequate to draw a conclusion regarding mobile phone-related exposure and its effects on cognition, brain activity, and physiological changes in children and adolescents." "As the OHAT risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias in each study as a whole, the assessment utilizing the “confidence in the exposure” criterion might not represent the true risk of bias in every individual exposure assessment method in epidemiological studies with different exposure sources and assessment methods (e.g., mobile phone use assessed by questionnaire, mobile phone base station exposure assessed by measurements). This may have led to an over- or underestimation in the risk of bias in single epidemiological studies." Conclusion "In this review, 42 epidemiological and 11 experimental studies on children and adolescents were systematically researched, analyzed, and assessed in view of the health-related effects of RF EMF from wireless communication devices (mobile phones, cordless phones, WLAN, Bluetooth, etc.). A total of 50 studies investigated mobile phone usage, 3 studies examined the exposure to mobile phone base stations, and 22 studies investigated both mobile phone usage and exposure to cordless phones, mobile phone base stations, etc. Of a total of 53 included studies, 35 studies had several methodological weaknesses, which limited the internal validity of the results. Overall, evidence for the effects of RF EMF of mobile communication devices on subjective symptoms, cognition, and behavior in children and adolescents was considered to be low to inadequate. Furthermore, the studies investigating early childhood development, brain activity, cancer, and physiological parameters were considered inadequate to draw conclusions concerning possible effects. Based on the studies included in this review, it remains unclear whether children and adolescents are particularly sensitive to mobile communication exposure. In summary, we could not identify a high evidence for any significant detrimental health effects of RF EMF of mobile communications on children and adolescents. Nevertheless, we do not conclude that such exposure would be safe for this particular age group, since the evidence base for this conclusion is too weak. There has been rapid development in technologies generating RF EMF, which are extensively used by children and adolescents. Therefore, we strongly recommend high-quality systematic research on children and adolescents, since they are generally considered as sensitive age groups [13]. For example, cohort studies with improved exposure assessments and experimental studies investigating the nervous systems, including larger study populations and different age groups, should be conducted. Moreover, children and adolescents should be considered separately in future trend studies. The conclusions of this review are largely in line with the evaluation of the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) [28] and the conclusions of other authors of earlier studies [7, 26, 27, 118]." Open access paper: journals.plos.org

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

This PRISMA-based systematic review included 42 epidemiological and 11 experimental human studies on children and adolescents exposed to RF EMF from wireless communication devices. The authors report that most studies had methodological weaknesses and that the overall body of evidence for effects on subjective symptoms, cognition, and behavior was rated low to inadequate, while evidence for early childhood development, brain activity, cancer, and physiological parameters was considered inadequate to draw conclusions. Overall, the review states that no final conclusion can be made about whether RF EMF exposure from mobile communication devices poses a particular risk to children and adolescents, and calls for higher-quality research.

Outcomes measured

• Subjective symptoms
• Cognition
• Behavior
• Early childhood development
• Brain activity
• Cancer
• Physiological parameters

Limitations

• Most included studies had methodological weaknesses limiting internal validity
• Lack of consistency across outcomes and lack of scientific rigor in many studies
• Experimental studies assessed only acute/short-term effects, limiting inference about long-term effects
• Risk-of-bias assessment using OHAT may over- or underestimate bias for specific exposure assessment methods within epidemiological studies

Suggested hubs

• cell-phones (0.9)
  The review primarily evaluates RF EMF exposure from mobile phone use in children and adolescents.
• wifi (0.55)
  Wireless devices assessed include WLAN/Wi-Fi exposure sources.

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        "band": "RF",
        "source": "wireless communication devices (mobile phones, cordless phones, WLAN/Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; some base station exposure)",
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    "effect_direction": "unclear",
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    "summary": "This systematic review (PRISMA) evaluated RF EMF exposure from wireless communication devices in children and adolescents across 42 epidemiological and 11 experimental human studies. The authors report substantial methodological weaknesses and inconsistent findings, leading them to rate the evidence for effects on subjective symptoms, cognition, and behavior as low to inadequate, and to consider evidence for other outcomes inadequate for conclusions. They state that the current evidence does not allow a final conclusion about particular risk or safety for this age group and recommend higher-quality research.",
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        "Among epidemiological studies, the review reports a mix of consistent, limited, and no consistent associations across studies.",
        "Among experimental studies, some reported effects on brain activity/cognition while most did not, and all were limited to acute/short-term exposure.",
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        "tweet": "Systematic review (2022, PLOS ONE) of RF EMF from wireless devices in children/adolescents (42 epidemiological + 11 experimental studies) found the overall evidence base to be low to inadequate, with methodological weaknesses and inconsistent outcomes; authors say no final conclusion on particular risk or safety can be drawn and call for higher-quality research.",
        "facebook": "A 2022 PLOS ONE systematic review assessed RF EMF exposure from wireless communication devices (e.g., mobile phones, cordless phones, Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth) in children and adolescents across 42 epidemiological and 11 experimental studies. The authors report many methodological weaknesses and inconsistent findings, rating evidence for effects on symptoms, cognition, and behavior as low to inadequate and concluding that no final determination about particular risk or safety can be made without better research.",
        "linkedin": "PLOS ONE (2022) systematic review of RF EMF exposure from wireless communication devices in children/adolescents (42 epidemiological, 11 experimental studies) reports substantial methodological limitations and inconsistent findings. The authors rate the evidence for effects on symptoms/cognition/behavior as low to inadequate and state that current data do not allow a final conclusion on particular risk or safety, highlighting the need for higher-quality studies."
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