Abstract
Wireless phones (both mobile and cordless) emit not only radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) but also extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields, both of which should be considered in epidemiological studies of the possible adverse health effects of use of such devices. This paper describes a unique algorithm, developed for the multinational case-control MOBI-Kids study, that estimates the cumulative specific energy (CSE) and the cumulative induced current density (CICD) in the brain from RF and ELF fields, respectively, for each subject in the study (aged 10–24 years old). Factors such as age, tumour location, self-reported phone models and usage patterns (laterality, call frequency/duration and hands-free use) were considered, as was the prevalence of different communication systems over time. Median CSE and CICD were substantially higher in GSM than 3G systems and varied considerably with location in the brain. Agreement between RF CSE and mobile phone use variables was moderate to null, depending on the communication system. Agreement between mobile phone use variables and ELF CICD was higher overall but also strongly dependent on communication system. Despite ELF dose distribution across the brain being more diffuse than that of RF, high correlation was observed between RF and ELF dose. The algorithm was used to systematically estimate the localised RF and ELF doses in the brain from wireless phones, which were found to be strongly dependent on location and communication system. Analysis of cartographies showed high correlation across phone models and across ages, however diagonal agreement between these cartographies suggest these factors do affect dose distribution to some level. Overall, duration and number of calls may not be adequate proxies of dose, particularly as communication systems available for voice calls tend to become more complex with time.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 107189 |
| Journal | Environment International |
| Volume | 163 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Italian participation was partially supported by a Ministry of Health grant (RF-2009-1546284). MOBI-Kids Korea was supported by the ICT R&D program (2017-0-00961 and 2019-0-00102) of MSIT/IITP, Korea. Mobi-Kids Japan was supported by Research on biological electromagnetic environment (Grant Number: JPMI10001) of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Japan. New Zealand participation was supported by the Health Research Council (HRC 12/380) and Cure Kids (grant number 3536). The Netherland’s participation in MOBI-KIDS was partly supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) within the program Electromagnetic Fields and Health Research under grant number 85800001 , and by the ODAS foundation, a private foundation supporting activities in the field of pediatric oncology and visual disabilities.
Funding Information:
Funding for the coordination of the MOBI-Kids study was obtained from the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreements number 226873 and 603794, and from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MINECO). In Spain, additional funding was obtained from the Spanish Health Research Fund (FIS) of the National Institute for Health Carlos III, and from the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Salud. Proyecto PI-0317-2010. ISGlobal also acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program and support from the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat of Catalonia through AGAUR (the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants) (Project 2017 SGR 1487). Australian participation in MOBI-Kids was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council with a five-year research grant (grant number: 546130). Austrian participation in MOBI-Kids was partly supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science. In Canada, participation in MOBI-Kids was supported by a university-industry partnership grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), reference number 110835, with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) serving as the industrial partner. CWTA provides technical information on wireless telecommunications in Canada and facilitates access to billing records from Canadian network operators, but has no involvement in the design, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the MOBI-KIDS study. French participation was also supported by the French National Agency for Sanitary Safety of Food, Environment and Labour (ANSES, contract FSRF2008-3 and 2013/2/007), French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Pfizer Foundation and League against cancer. The German study centre received additional funding from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) under grant number 3609S30010. In Greece, the study was partially supported by the Hellenic Society for Social Pediatrics and Health Promotion, ELKE (Special Account for Research Grants of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and GGET (General Secretariat for Research and Technology). Mobi-Kids India was supported by Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS, sanction no: 2013/38/01-BRNS).
Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the work of Anna Peir? (ISGlobal) in running the descriptive analyses in this paper. The authors would also like to acknowledge the MOBI-Kids Consortium. Funding for the coordination of the MOBI-Kids study was obtained from the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreements number 226873 and 603794, and from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MINECO). In Spain, additional funding was obtained from the Spanish Health Research Fund (FIS) of the National Institute for Health Carlos III, and from the Junta de Andaluc?a, Consejer?a de Salud. Proyecto PI-0317-2010. ISGlobal also acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the ?Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023? Program (CEX2018-000806-S), support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program and support from the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat of Catalonia through AGAUR (the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants) (Project 2017 SGR 1487). Australian participation in MOBI-Kids was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council with a five-year research grant (grant number: 546130). Austrian participation in MOBI-Kids was partly supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science. In Canada, participation in MOBI-Kids was supported by a university-industry partnership grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), reference number 110835, with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) serving as the industrial partner. CWTA provides technical information on wireless telecommunications in Canada and facilitates access to billing records from Canadian network operators, but has no involvement in the design, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the MOBI-KIDS study. French participation was also supported by the French National Agency for Sanitary Safety of Food, Environment and Labour (ANSES, contract FSRF2008-3 and 2013/2/007), French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Pfizer Foundation and League against cancer. The German study centre received additional funding from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) under grant number 3609S30010. In Greece, the study was partially supported by the Hellenic Society for Social Pediatrics and Health Promotion, ELKE (Special Account for Research Grants of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and GGET (General Secretariat for Research and Technology). Mobi-Kids India was supported by Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS, sanction no: 2013/38/01-BRNS). Italian participation was partially supported by a Ministry of Health grant (RF-2009-1546284). MOBI-Kids Korea was supported by the ICT R&D program (2017-0-00961 and 2019-0-00102) of MSIT/IITP, Korea. Mobi-Kids Japan was supported by Research on biological electromagnetic environment (Grant Number: JPMI10001) of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Japan. New Zealand participation was supported by the Health Research Council (HRC 12/380) and Cure Kids (grant number 3536). The Netherland's participation in MOBI-KIDS was partly supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) within the program Electromagnetic Fields and Health Research under grant number 85800001, and by the ODAS foundation, a private foundation supporting activities in the field of pediatric oncology and visual disabilities. The funding sources had no role in the study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; or the decision to submit the article for publication
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
Keywords
- Brain tumour
- Dose algorithm
- ELF-EMF
- Exposure assessment
- Mobile phones
- RF-EMF