Study type:
Epidemiological study
Association between estimated whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic fields dose and cognitive function in preadolescents and adolescents
epidem.
By:
Cabré-Riera A, van Wel L, Liorni I, Thielens A, Birks LE, Pierotti L, Joseph W, González-Safont L, Ibarluzea J, Ferrero A, Huss A, Wiart J, Santa-Marina L, Torrent M, Vrijkotte T, Capstick M, Vermeulen R, Vrijheid M, Cardis E, Röösli M, Guxens M
Published in: Int J Hyg Environ Health 2021; 231: 113659
Aim of study (acc. to author)
Endpoint/type of risk estimation
Exposure
Assessment
- questionnaire: use of mobile phone and DECT phone for calling (named 'phone calls', mobile phone use for internet browsing, e-mailing, and text messaging, tablet use and laptop use while wirelessly connected to internet (named 'screen activity')
- list: exposure to different environmental RF-EMF sources (mobile phone base stations, FM radio and TV broadcast antennas, mobile phones, DECT phones, and WiFi (named 'far field'i)), assessed e.g. by geocoding
- calculation: overall whole-brain RF-EMF doses (mJ/kg/day) including phone calls, screen activities and far-field sources and source-specific RF-EMF doses (phone calls, screen activities, and far-field) were calculated based on Liorni et al., 2020 and van Wel et al., 2020 (in press)
Population
-
Group:
-
Age:
9–18 years
-
Characteristics:
children of 2 birth cohort studies, the Dutch Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) Study and the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) Project
-
Study location:
Netherlands (Amsterdam) and Spain (Valencia, Sabadell, Gipuzkoa, and Menorca)
Study size
| Type |
Value |
| Participants |
3,213 |
Statistical analysis method:
- linear regression
- linear mixed-effects model, negative binomial regression model
(
adjustment:
)
Results (acc. to author)
Estimated overall whole-brain RF-EMF dose was 90.1 mJ/kg/day (interquartile range (IQR) 42.7; 164.0) in the Dutch and Spanish children and 105.1 mJ/kg/day (IQR 51.0; 295.7) in the Spanish adolescents.
Higher overall estimated whole-brain RF-EMF doses from all RF-EMF sources together and from phone calls were associated with lower non-verbal intelligence score in the Dutch and Spanish preadolescents (− 0.10 points, CI -0.19; − 0.02 per 100 mJ/kg/day increase in each exposure). However, none of the whole-brain RF-EMF doses was related to any other cognitive function outcome in children or adolescents.
The authors conclude that higher brain exposure to RF-EMF might be related to lower non-verbal intelligence but not to other cognitive function outcomes.
Limitations (acc. to author)
Given the cross-sectional nature of the study, the small effect sizes, and the unknown biological mechanisms, the authors cannot discard that the results are due to chance finding or reverse causality.
Study funded by
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Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail (ANSES; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety), France
-
Department of Health, Basque Government, Spain
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European Project GERONIMO (Generalised EMF Research using Novel Methods) funded under FP7-ENVIRONMENT
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FIS (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Health Research Fund) (Instituto de Salud Carlos III., Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) (Carlos III Health Institute, Ministry of Health and Consumption), Spain
-
Generalitat Catalunya, Spain
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Generalitat Valenciana, Spain
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Juan de la Cierva programme, Ministerio de Economià y Competitividad (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness), Spain
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Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO; Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek); The Netherlands
-
Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa, Spain
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