Electromagnetic Fields: Insight into Sources, and Their Effects on Vital Organs and the Risk of Cancer

PAPER manual 2023 Review Effect: harm Evidence: Very low

Read original paper → DOI: 10.36346/sarjap.2023.v04i03.001 Evidence Lab

Abstract

Electromagnetic Fields: Insight into Sources, and Their Effects on Vital Organs and the Risk of Cancer Khalat AM, Yahya RAM, Azab AE. Electromagnetic Fields: Insight into Sources, and Their Effects on Vital Organs and the Risk of Cancer. SAR J Anat Physiol. doi: 10.36346/sarjap.2023.v04i03.001. Abstract Background: Electromagnetic radiation has become an extensive new pollution source in modern civilization. Therefore, the biological effects of electromagnetic radiation have attracted considerable attention worldwide. Objectives: The current review was aimed to highlight sources of electromagnetic fields and their effects on vital organs and the risk of cancer. Electromagnetic sources can be classified into natural electromagnetic sources (sun, some distant stars, atmospheric discharges like thunder, or human body) and unnatural or human made sources (printers, vacuum cleaners, cellular phones, hair dryers, refrigerators, washing machines, kettles microwaves, cables that carry electrical currents, television and computers, electrical home gadgets, radio and television base stations, mobile phone base stations and phone equipment), home wiring airport, and transformers. Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are electromagnetic waves less than 300 GHz, that are divided into extremely low frequencies (ELFs; 3–3,000 Hz), involving high-voltage transmission lines and in-house wiring; and radiofrequencies (RFs; 30 kHz to 300 GHz), involving mobile phones, smart devices, base stations, WiFi, and 5G technologies. Cell phone technology is an integral part of everyday life and its use is not only restricted to voice conversations but also conveying news, high-resolution pictures, and the internet. Exposure to electromagnetic fields might produce oxidative stress, sperm damage, DNA damage, changes in the chromatin conformation, formation of micronucleus in different cell types, gene expression, enzyme activity, and changes in the structure and function of cell membrane, stimulated an increase in apoptosis and biosynthesis of plasma metallothionein and corticosterone. It causes headaches, chronic fatigue, heart problems, stress, nausea, chest pain, gastrointestinal issues, pain in the muscles and joints, sweating, neurocognitive disturbances, eye burning, nose, ear, and throat issues, bad effects on reproductive, central nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Also, it increases anxiety-related behavior; spatial memory, and learning deficits in male mice offspring, decreased thermal pain perception, induced a sleep disturbance, latency, and day dysfunction especially in females, a change in memory performance, damage to the lens epithelial cells of rabbits after 8 hours of exposure to microwave radiation, produced lens opacity in rats, which is linked to the production of cataracts, and derangement of chicken embryo retinal differentiation. There are a relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the increased incidence of the occurrence of some tumors types, particularly brain cancer and leukemia. EMFs induce damage of tissues by increasing free radicals and changing the antioxidant defense systems of tissues, eventually leading to oxidative stress which leads to behavioral, histopathological and biochemical alterations. Exposure to radar, which uses RF fields above 6 GHz similar to 5 G causes effects on production of cancer at different sites, and other diseases. The possible mechanism proposed of how EMFs lead to cancer is the impact of EMFs on free radical combination rates in certain enzymes, such as coenzyme B12- dependent ethanolamine ammonia lyase. The enzyme reaction rate may be amplified by a factor of up to 100. A case-control studies found an increased risk of gliomas, acoustic neuromas, and temporal lobe tumours in users with highest self-reported cell phone use. Exposure of experimental animals to microwave radiation caused a decrease in learning and memory ability, abnormal hippocampal morphology and abnormal Electroencephalogram. Also, it could lead to a decrease in norepinephrine and epinephrine contents in the brain, leading to neurotransmitter production disorders. Conclusion: It can be concluded that electromagnetic sources classified into natural electromagnetic and human made sources. EMFs) are electromagnetic waves less than 300 GHz are divided into extremely low frequencies and radiofrequencies. Exposure to electromagnetic fields might produce oxidative stress, which leads to histopathological and biochemical alterations in different body organs and increased risk of gliomas, acoustic neuromas, and temporal lobe tumours in users with highest self-reported cell phone use. Further studies are needed to confirm these effects in human and experimental animals Open access paper: sarpublication.com

AI evidence extraction

At a glance

Study type

Review

Effect direction

harm

Population

—

Sample size

—

Exposure

ELF/RF mixed (natural and human-made sources including mobile phones, base stations, WiFi, 5G, household appliances, power lines/wiring, radar)

Evidence strength

Very low

Confidence: 66% · Peer-reviewed: unknown

Main findings

Narrative review describing EMF sources (ELF and RF up to <300 GHz) and reporting that EMF exposure is associated in the cited literature with oxidative stress and multiple biological/organ effects. The abstract states a relationship between EMF exposure and increased incidence of some tumor types (notably brain cancer and leukemia) and notes a cited case-control study reporting increased risk of gliomas, acoustic neuromas, and temporal lobe tumors among those with highest self-reported mobile phone use; it concludes further studies are needed to confirm effects in humans and animals.

Outcomes measured

oxidative stress
DNA damage
sperm damage
chromatin conformation changes
micronucleus formation
gene expression changes
enzyme activity changes
cell membrane structure/function changes
apoptosis
metallothionein and corticosterone biosynthesis
headaches
chronic fatigue
heart problems
stress
nausea
chest pain
gastrointestinal issues
muscle and joint pain
sweating
neurocognitive disturbances
eye burning
nose/ear/throat issues
reproductive system effects
central nervous system effects
endocrine system effects
cardiovascular system effects
immune system effects
anxiety-related behavior (animal)
spatial memory/learning deficits (animal)
thermal pain perception decrease (animal)
sleep disturbance (animal/humans mentioned generally)
lens epithelial cell damage (rabbit)
lens opacity/cataracts (rat)
retinal differentiation derangement (chicken embryo)
tumors/cancer risk (brain cancer, leukemia, gliomas, acoustic neuromas, temporal lobe tumors)

Limitations

Review article; methods for literature search/selection not described in abstract
Many claims are general and not tied to specific study designs, exposure metrics, or quantified effect sizes in the abstract
Heterogeneous exposures and outcomes (ELF, RF, microwave, radar; multiple organs/species) limit specificity
Causality not established; conclusion calls for further studies to confirm effects

Suggested hubs

5g-policy (0.32)
Abstract explicitly mentions 5G technologies and compares radar RF fields above 6 GHz to 5G.
school-wi-fi (0.18)
WiFi is listed among RF sources, though no school setting is described.

View raw extracted JSON

{
    "study_type": "review",
    "exposure": {
        "band": "ELF/RF",
        "source": "mixed (natural and human-made sources including mobile phones, base stations, WiFi, 5G, household appliances, power lines/wiring, radar)",
        "frequency_mhz": null,
        "sar_wkg": null,
        "duration": null
    },
    "population": null,
    "sample_size": null,
    "outcomes": [
        "oxidative stress",
        "DNA damage",
        "sperm damage",
        "chromatin conformation changes",
        "micronucleus formation",
        "gene expression changes",
        "enzyme activity changes",
        "cell membrane structure/function changes",
        "apoptosis",
        "metallothionein and corticosterone biosynthesis",
        "headaches",
        "chronic fatigue",
        "heart problems",
        "stress",
        "nausea",
        "chest pain",
        "gastrointestinal issues",
        "muscle and joint pain",
        "sweating",
        "neurocognitive disturbances",
        "eye burning",
        "nose/ear/throat issues",
        "reproductive system effects",
        "central nervous system effects",
        "endocrine system effects",
        "cardiovascular system effects",
        "immune system effects",
        "anxiety-related behavior (animal)",
        "spatial memory/learning deficits (animal)",
        "thermal pain perception decrease (animal)",
        "sleep disturbance (animal/humans mentioned generally)",
        "lens epithelial cell damage (rabbit)",
        "lens opacity/cataracts (rat)",
        "retinal differentiation derangement (chicken embryo)",
        "tumors/cancer risk (brain cancer, leukemia, gliomas, acoustic neuromas, temporal lobe tumors)"
    ],
    "main_findings": "Narrative review describing EMF sources (ELF and RF up to <300 GHz) and reporting that EMF exposure is associated in the cited literature with oxidative stress and multiple biological/organ effects. The abstract states a relationship between EMF exposure and increased incidence of some tumor types (notably brain cancer and leukemia) and notes a cited case-control study reporting increased risk of gliomas, acoustic neuromas, and temporal lobe tumors among those with highest self-reported mobile phone use; it concludes further studies are needed to confirm effects in humans and animals.",
    "effect_direction": "harm",
    "limitations": [
        "Review article; methods for literature search/selection not described in abstract",
        "Many claims are general and not tied to specific study designs, exposure metrics, or quantified effect sizes in the abstract",
        "Heterogeneous exposures and outcomes (ELF, RF, microwave, radar; multiple organs/species) limit specificity",
        "Causality not established; conclusion calls for further studies to confirm effects"
    ],
    "evidence_strength": "very_low",
    "confidence": 0.66000000000000003108624468950438313186168670654296875,
    "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
    "keywords": [
        "electromagnetic fields",
        "ELF",
        "radiofrequency",
        "microwave radiation",
        "5G",
        "WiFi",
        "mobile phones",
        "base stations",
        "radar",
        "oxidative stress",
        "DNA damage",
        "cancer",
        "glioma",
        "acoustic neuroma",
        "leukemia"
    ],
    "suggested_hubs": [
        {
            "slug": "5g-policy",
            "weight": 0.320000000000000006661338147750939242541790008544921875,
            "reason": "Abstract explicitly mentions 5G technologies and compares radar RF fields above 6 GHz to 5G."
        },
        {
            "slug": "school-wi-fi",
            "weight": 0.179999999999999993338661852249060757458209991455078125,
            "reason": "WiFi is listed among RF sources, though no school setting is described."
        }
    ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract/metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.

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