Systematic reviews and meta-analyses for the WHO assessment of health effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, an introduction

Abstract

Category: Environmental Health, Epidemiology Tags: radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, EMF, RF exposure, health risks, WHO, systematic review, cancer DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109751 URL: sciencedirect.com Overview This editorial introduces a special issue of Environment International focused on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) assessment of the health effects of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF). The collection represents four years of collaborative scientific work involving more than 80 global experts, culminating in multiple systematic reviews and protocols that inform the WHO's health risk assessment for RF-EMF exposure. Project Highlights - Includes nine protocols and twelve systematic reviews supporting human health risk assessment of RF-EMF exposure. - Describes commissioning, development processes, and methodologies for systematic reviews. - Summarizes key findings and discusses successes and challenges of this large-scale effort. Findings - Evidence consistently evaluated for major health outcomes such as cancer, cognition, fertility, symptoms, and oxidative stress, with review sizes ranging from 5 to 215 included studies per outcome. - Systematic reviews in humans found moderate-certainty evidence of no or only small effect for major cancer types (glioma, lymphoma), except for lower certainty in thyroid and oral/pharyngeal cancers. - Animal studies showed high- to moderate-certainty evidence of effects on five cancer types and high-certainty evidence of adverse effects on male fertility. - Evidence for human effects on cognition and symptoms was of moderate- to very low-certainty, often limited by few studies or bias risks. - Oxidative stress findings were highly variable and certainty was very low, with methodological challenges noted. - While primarily thermal and nerve excitation mechanisms are recognized, editors emphasize the possibility of unidentified biophysical mechanisms that could also pose health risks from RF EMF exposure. Conclusion These systematically conducted reviews provide the most substantial basis to date for evaluating the effects of EMF exposure on health and are intended to guide the forthcoming WHO EHC Monograph on RF fields. Importantly, the differences in animal and human study results underscore ongoing methodological and interpretative challenges, highlighting the need for integration of this evidence in the global health context. The possibility of yet unknown mechanisms linking RF-EMF exposure to health risks is acknowledged, and continued vigilance and research are recommended.

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

Systematic reviews found moderate-certainty evidence of no or small effects on major human cancers except lower certainty for thyroid and oral/pharyngeal cancers. Animal studies showed moderate- to high-certainty evidence of effects on several cancer types and male fertility. Evidence for cognition and symptoms in humans was moderate to very low certainty, and oxidative stress findings were very low certainty with methodological challenges. The possibility of unknown biophysical mechanisms was noted.

Outcomes measured

• cancer (glioma, lymphoma, thyroid, oral/pharyngeal)
• cognition
• fertility
• symptoms
• oxidative stress

Limitations

• Lower certainty of evidence for some cancer types in humans
• Few studies or bias risks limit cognition and symptom findings
• Very low certainty and methodological challenges for oxidative stress
• Differences between animal and human study results
• Potential unknown mechanisms not fully understood

Suggested hubs

• who-icnirp (1)
  The paper directly supports WHO health risk assessment of RF-EMF exposure.

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    "exposure": {
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    "population": "humans and animals",
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    "outcomes": [
        "cancer (glioma, lymphoma, thyroid, oral/pharyngeal)",
        "cognition",
        "fertility",
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    "main_findings": "Systematic reviews found moderate-certainty evidence of no or small effects on major human cancers except lower certainty for thyroid and oral/pharyngeal cancers. Animal studies showed moderate- to high-certainty evidence of effects on several cancer types and male fertility. Evidence for cognition and symptoms in humans was moderate to very low certainty, and oxidative stress findings were very low certainty with methodological challenges. The possibility of unknown biophysical mechanisms was noted.",
    "effect_direction": "mixed",
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        "Lower certainty of evidence for some cancer types in humans",
        "Few studies or bias risks limit cognition and symptom findings",
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        "Differences between animal and human study results",
        "Potential unknown mechanisms not fully understood"
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    "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
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