ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

By: Croft RJ, McKenzie RJ, Inyang I, Benke GP, Anderson V, Abramson MJ.
Published in: Australas Phys Eng Sci Med. 2008 Dec;31(4):255-67.

Australian review of the epidemiological literature on the use of mobile phones (and mobile phone-related technologies) and head and neck tumours. The authors conclude that although there have been individual reports of associations between mobile phone use and tumours, this research is not consistent and on balance does not provide evidence of an association. There are reports of small associations between mobile phone use ipsilateral (on the same side) to the tumour for greater than 10 years, for both acoustic neuroma and glioma, but the authors argue that these results are especially prone to recall bias.

In this review epidemiological studies (case-control and cohort studies) on mobile phones and head and neck tumors were included by searching Medline from January 1966 - October 2007 (inclusive). In addition other articles known to the authors within the search period were also included. Many of the studies included in this review were part of the INTERPHONE project which is a multi-national series of case-control studies (from 13 different countries) testing whether using mobile phones increases the risk of various cancers in the head and neck.

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 The INTERPHONE studies are based on a common core protocol to enable valid data pooling. Results from a pooled analysis of all the studies are expected at a later stage. 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

There have been two other reviews recently that have looked at mobile phone use and intracranial tumours. The first was prepared by the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Canada and it reviewed three meta-analyses published since 2006 and two pooled INTERPHONE studies. The Canadian review concludes that there is insufficient evidence to indicate a causal association between cell phone use and intracranial tumours. Similarly to the review by Croft et al it points out that there is weak evidence supporting an increase in the risk of glioma, acoustic neuroma, and meningioma in adults with regular, ipsilateral use for 10 years or longer. However it also states that existing findings are suggestive but preliminary because they are based on few studies with small numbers and potential biases. This review is available at http://www.ncceh.ca/files/Cell_Phones_Sept_2008.pdf.

The second review by Kundi (2008) is more general looking at mobile phone use and all cancers. This review was included in the October 2008 update. The author reviewed 33 epidemiological studies the majority of which (25) were about brain tumours. Kundi concludes that the overall evidence points towards an increased risk, although its magnitude cannot be assessed at present due to insufficient information on long-term use. The author emphasises methodological issues such as selection bias and misclassification. This review is available at http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/11902/11902.pdf

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By: Schüz J, Waldemar G, Olsen JH, Johansen C.
Published in: PLoS ONE. 2009;4(2):e4389. Epub 2009 Feb 5.

Danish retrospective cohort study investigating a possible link between mobile telephone use and risks for various diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The cohort included 420,095 people whose first mobile phone subscription was between 1982-1995, who were followed through 2003 for hospital contacts for a diagnosis of a CNS disorder. Standardized hospitalization ratios (SHRs) were derived by dividing the number of hospital contacts in the cohort by the number expected in the Danish population. The SHRs were increased by 10-20% for migraine and vertigo. No associations were seen for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy in women. SHRs decreased by 30-40% were observed for dementia (Alzheimer disease, vascular and other dementia), Parkinson disease and epilepsy among men. In analyses restricted to subscribers of 10 years or more, the SHRs remained similarly increased for migraine and vertigo and similarly decreased for Alzheimer disease and other dementia and epilepsy (in men); the other SHRs were close to unity. The authors conclude that the associations of migraine and vertigo deserve further attention.

PUBMED LINK

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By: McNamee DA, Legros AG, Krewski DR, Wisenberg G, Prato FS, Thomas AW.
Published in: Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009 Feb 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Review of the effects of exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on human cardiovascular parameters. The authors note that epidemiological studies have utilized dosimetry estimations of employee workplace exposure using altered heart rate variability (HRV) as predictive of certain cardiovascular pathologies. Laboratory studies have focused on macrocirculatory indicators including heart rate, HRV and blood pressure. Few studies have been conducted on the response of the microcirculatory system to EMF exposure. The authors recommend for future research to include investigating the macro- and microcirculatory relationship and the use of laboratory geomagnetic shielding.

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By: Li P, McLaughlin J, Infante-Rivard C.
Published in: Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Feb 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Epidemiological study examining the contribution of maternal occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) shortly before and during pregnancy on the incidence of childhood brain tumors. The study included 548 incident cases and 760 healthy controls recruited between 1980-2002 from two Canadian provinces (Québec and Ontario). Exposure to ELF-MF was estimated using individual exposure estimations or a job exposure matrix. Before conception, an increased risk was observed between average exposure and astroglial tumors (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-2.4). During the entire pregnancy period, a significantly increased risk was observed between average exposure and astroglial tumors as well as all childhood brain tumors (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.5 and OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.2, respectively). Based on job titles, a twofold risk increase was observed for astroglial tumors (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 0.8-6.3) and for all childhood brain tumors (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.0-5.4) among sewing machine operators. The authors conclude that the results are suggestive of a possible association between maternal occupational ELF-MF exposure and certain brain tumors in their offspring.

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By: Kühnlein A, Heumann C, Thomas S, Heinrich S, Radon K.
Published in: Bioelectromagnetics. 2009 Jan 29. [Epub ahead of print]

Cross-sectional population-based study in Germany investigating possible health effects of mobile communication networks on children using personal dosimetry. Exposure was assessed every second resulting in 86,400 measurements over 24 h for each participant. The exposure data was categorised into two groups of children with "low exposure" (88%) and "higher exposure" (12%). The authors report no association between the categorized exposure and well-being.

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By: Maslanyj M, Simpson J, Roman E, Schüz J.
Published in: Bioelectromagnetics. 2009 Apr;30(3):183-8.

Study examining the adequacy of using distance from power lines in assessing exposure to power frequency magnetic fields. The authors used data from two large population-based UK and German studies to demonstrate that distance to power lines is a comparatively poor predictor of measured residential magnetic fields.

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