ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

By: Ahlbom A, Feychting M, Green A, Kheifets L, Savitz D, Swerdlow A; ICNIRP Standing Committee on Epidemiology
Published in: Epidemiology. 2009 Jul 10. [Epub ahead of print]

Review of epidemiological studies on mobile phone use and head tumours. The authors emphasise the key methodological issues and in particular selective nonresponse and recall bias in phone use. They conclude that overall the studies do not show an increased risk within 10 years of use for any head tumour. More specifically the authors point out that the evidence to date does not suggest a causal association between mobile phone use and fast-growing tumours such as malignant glioma in adults. For slow-growing tumours such as meningioma and acoustic neuroma, as well as for glioma among long-term users, the authors conclude that the evidence to date is less conclusive due to the short period of observation.

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The majority of studies looking at mobile phones and tumours of the head come from the Hardell group in Sweden and the INTERPHONE project (comprising studies from 13 countries that shared the same study protocol). The INTERPHONE project is coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Further information on the project is available from the IARC website at http://www.iarc.fr/en/research-groups/RAD/RCAd.html. An update on the INTERPHONE studies that have been published to date is available at: _http://www.iarc.fr/en/research-groups/RAD/Interphone8oct08.pdf

This latest review follows the two recent Australian reviews on mobile phones and brain tumours by Croft et al (2009) and Khurana et al (2009) which were presented as the feature articles in the February and April updates, respectively. The Croft et al review generally agrees with the conclusions made by Ahlbom et al that overall the studies do not provide evidence of an association. Khurana et al on the other hand conclude that there is adequate epidemiological evidence to suggest a link between prolonged mobile phone use and the development of an ipsilateral brain tumour (on the same side as using the mobile phone). Clearly the difference is how much weight is put on the results by Hardell and colleagues which have consistently shown associations between mobile phone use and brain tumours. Similar results however have not been consistently shown by the INTERPHONE studies.

The review by Ahlbom et al tries to identify the reasons behind the difference between the Hardell and other (mainly INTERPHONE) studies. Although no single methodological problem is identified, Ahlbom et al conclude that “the series of decisions in methods, analysis, and presentation provide the most plausible explanation for the deviation of the findings of the Hardell studies from those of other investigators.” Comments made by Rothman (Epidemiology, 20(5), 653-5, 2009) indicated that the reasons for the differing results seem reasonable. However he notes that the Ahlbom et al review doesnot explore these methodological differences and future literature reviews should investigate this further.

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By: The International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)
Published in: ICNIRP website

Review of the current scientific evidence on exposure to high frequency electromagnetic fields and the possibility of associated health effects. The review addresses studies published since the 1998 publication of the ICNIRP guidelines on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields. The review is divided into three main sections:

1. Dosimetry of high frequency electromagnetic fields
2. Review of experimental studies of RF biological effects
3. Epidemiology of health effects of radiofrequency exposure

The review is available at http://www.icnirp.de/documents/RFReview.pdf

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By: The International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)
Published in: ICNIRP website

ICNIRP has prepared a consultation draft of guidelines for limiting EMF exposure that will provide protection against any established adverse health effects. The consultation process is open till 31 October 2009.

The draft guidelines as well as details on the consultation process are available at http://www.icnirp.de/openELF/OpenConsultationELF.php

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By: Abramson MJ et al
Published in: Bioelectromagnetics 2009 Jul 30 [Epub ahead of print]

This Australian study was part of the Mobile Radiofrequency Phone Exposed Users' Study (MoRPhEUS), which is a cross-sectional epidemiological study examined cognitive function in secondary school students. The study included 317, 7th grade students from 20 schools in Melbourne. Participants completed an exposure questionnaire based on the Interphone study, and various cognitive tests. The authors report that overall, mobile phone use was associated with faster and less accurate responding to higher level cognitive tasks. They point out that these behaviours may have been learned through frequent use of a mobile phone.

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By: Inyang I
Published in: BMC Med Res Methodol. 2009 Jun 12;9:36

Australian study validating the accuracy of self reported mobile telephone use among adolescents. The study included 59 7th grade students from Melbourne. Adolescent recall of mobile telephone use was assessed using a self administered questionnaire which asked about number and average duration of calls per week. Validation of self reports was undertaken using Software Modified Phones (SMPs) which logged exposure details such as number and duration of calls. The authors report that adolescent recall of mobile telephone use was only modestly accurate. They conclude that caution is warranted in interpreting results of epidemiological studies investigating health effects of mobile phone use in this age group.

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By: Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR)
Published in: SCENIHR website

This report by the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) addresses the remaining research needs regarding electromagnetic fields and potential health effects. The report makes specific recommendations regarding research covering several frequency bands (radio frequency fields, intermediate frequency fields, extremely low frequency fields and static fields) and also considers environmental aspects.

The report is available at http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_024.pdf

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By: Kristiansen I et al
Published in: Bioelectromagnetics 2009 Jul;30(5):393-401

In this study 1004 people were surveyed via the telephone in order to assess the prevalence, nature and determinants of concerns about mobile phone radiation. The authors report the majority of the population has little concern about mobile phone radiation while a small minority is very concerned.

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