A review of the potential health effects of exposure to radio waves has found that cell phones are not linked to brain cancer.
The Conversation website said that the review was conducted by the World Health Organization and published Tuesday in the international journal Environment.
Cell phones are often held close to the head when in use. They emit radio waves, a type of non-ionizing radiation. These two factors are largely behind the idea that cell phones may cause brain cancer. This possibility has been a concern for some time, especially since cell phones have become such an integral part of our daily lives. Therefore, scientists have had to study the safety of exposure to radio waves from these devices.
Over the years, the scientific consensus has remained strong: there is no link between cell phone radio waves and brain cancer, or health in general.
Radiation as a potential carcinogen
In 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radiofrequency radiation exposure as a possible human carcinogen. But the meaning of this classification has been widely misunderstood and has led to some concern.
The agency’s classification was based on previous observational studies in which people with brain cancer reported using mobile phones a lot.
This new systematic review is based on a much larger dataset than what the IARC examined in 2011.
The new review includes more recent and comprehensive studies. This means we can now be more confident that exposure to radio waves from mobile phones or wireless technologies is not linked to an increased risk of brain cancer.
No connection
The new review is part of a series of systematic reviews commissioned by the World Health Organization to look more closely at the potential health effects associated with exposure to radio waves.
This systematic review provides the strongest evidence to date that radio waves from wireless technologies do not pose a risk to human health.
It is the most comprehensive review on the subject. It looked at more than 5,000 studies, 63 of which, published between 1994 and 2022, were included in the final analysis.
Researchers found no association between cell phone use and brain cancer or any other head or neck cancer.
There was also no association with cancer if a person used a mobile phone for ten years or more (extended use). In addition, how often people used their phones, either based on the number of calls or the time spent on the phone, made no difference either.
Most importantly, these results show that although the use of wireless technologies has increased dramatically in the past few decades, there has been no increase in the incidence of brain cancer.
Good thing
Therefore, the results are very reassuring. They are that the low-level radio waves emitted by mobile phones are below the required safety limits. Therefore, there is no evidence that exposure to these waves has an effect on human health.
Despite these findings, it is important that research continues. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace. With this advancement, radio waves may be used in different ways using different frequencies. Therefore, it is essential that science continues to ensure that exposure to radio waves from these technologies remains safe.
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