Many people fear that cell phone radiation is carcinogenic. Researchers have now looked at studies from all over the world and summarized the results in the largest meta-study on the subject to date.
People who use cell phones do not have an increased risk of developing cancer. This is the central finding of the most recent and largest meta-study that has ever been conducted on the subject. The study was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO). The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) was one of the institutes and authorities involved.
“We have analyzed and summarized all scientific evidence from epidemiological studies, i.e. observational studies on humans, on the topic from all over the world,” explained BfS scientist Dan Baaken, one of the authors of the study. “We can say with a high degree of certainty that we have not overlooked anything.”
However, the statement only refers to cancer; other often discussed possible effects of cell phone radiation such as headaches or infertility were not part of the study.
Focus on brain tumors
For the meta-study, the researchers reviewed 5,000 studies from the past decades and selected 63 studies that met their criteria based on previously defined and published criteria. These included all types of cancer, but especially those of the central nervous system, such as brain tumors.
The result: The use of mobile phones did not lead to an increased risk of cancers such as brain tumors, pituitary tumors, salivary gland tumors, brain tumors in children or leukemia.
There was also no increased risk with cordless landline phones, it was said. It was also examined whether living near radio antennas and cell phone transmission towers increased the risk of cancer – this was also not the case, according to the analysis.
Older studies sometimes prone to errors
Baaken explained that the researchers had also looked at so-called time series analyses. Among other things, the number of mobile phone contracts over the years was compared with data from cancer registries in Australia, South Korea, England and the Scandinavian countries. “There, too, there was no increase in brain tumors that would suggest a connection with mobile phones.”
Some older case-control studies, in which sick people were asked about their cell phone use and compared with non-sick people, had repeatedly established a connection between cancer and cell phone use. “But these are susceptible to certain types of error,” explained Baaken. There are now results from studies with large groups that are superior to the case-control studies in many aspects. “This has changed the classification again.”
5G not yet investigated
The new meta-study was published in the journal Environment International. It includes studies up to the end of 2022, which is why studies on the new mobile communications standard 5G are missing. “However, we have included studies with contact with radar sources, and radar has a similar frequency to 5G,” said Baaken.
The fundamental question is whether radiation from mobile phones, i.e. electromagnetic waves, can have an effect on cells in the body. This is something that is also tested in the laboratory, for example. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection explains that such a mechanism of action is not known. “From a scientific point of view, there is currently no proven mechanism of action that high-frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones and base stations cause cancer.”
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