Relationship between parental exposure to RF EMF and hematopoietic neoplasms (lymphoma, leukemia) and tumors in the central nervous system in children: a systematic review
Abstract
Relationship between parental exposure to RF EMF and hematopoietic neoplasms (lymphoma, leukemia) and tumors in the central nervous system in children: a systematic review Morales-Suárez-Varela M, Llopis-Morales A, Doccioli C, Donzelli G. Relationship between parental exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and primarily hematopoietic neoplasms (lymphoma, leukemia) and tumors in the central nervous system in children: a systematic review. Rev Environ Health. 2023 Mar 22. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2022-0248. Abstract Low-frequency electromagnetic fields have grown exponentially in recent years due to technological development and modernization. The World Health Organization (WHO)/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), and recent studies have investigated the association between exposure to electromagnetic fields in parents and possible health effects in children, especially the development of tumours of the central nervous system (CNS). The objective of this systematic review was to collate all evidence on the relationship between parental occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields and the development of CNS cancer in children and to evaluate this association. This review was prepared according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from January 1990 to April 2021. The search was conducted using the following search string: "occupational" AND "child" AND "electromagnetic" AND "cancer". Seventeen articles met our inclusion criteria: 13 case-control studies, two cohort studies, and 2 meta-analyses. Most of the studies showed several methodological weaknesses that limited their results. Due to a lack of consistency regarding the outcome as well as the heterogeneity in the reviewed studies, the body of evidence for the effects of parental exposure to electromagnetic fields is not clear. Methodological heterogeneity in the way that studies were conducted could be responsible for the lack of consistency in the findings. Overall, the body of evidence allows no conclusion on the question of whether parental exposure to electromagnetic. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov As a result of this review, we should highlight that we could not obtain a conclusive result that identifies a positive or negative association between parental occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields and the occurrence of CNS tumors in children. A total of 17 studies, published between January 1990 and April 2021, that related parental occupational expo-sure to electromagnetic fields with the development of childhood CNS cancers were identified. We observed methodological heterogeneity in all the studies, independently from the identification of positive or negative associations. When stratifying by type of cancer under study, no evidence was identified to justify the different results obtained. In summary, this study did not find evidence of an association between electromagnetic fields exposure from parents’ working environment and incidence of CNS tumors in the offspring.
AI evidence extraction
Main findings
This systematic review identified 17 studies (13 case-control, 2 cohort, 2 meta-analyses) on parental occupational electromagnetic field exposure and childhood cancers. The authors report substantial methodological weaknesses and heterogeneity across studies and conclude the overall evidence is unclear, with no conclusive positive or negative association; they summarize that they did not find evidence of an association with childhood CNS tumors.
Outcomes measured
- Childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumors
- Childhood hematopoietic neoplasms (lymphoma, leukemia)
Limitations
- Most included studies had methodological weaknesses.
- Heterogeneity in study methods and outcomes limited consistency of findings.
- Lack of consistency across reviewed studies prevented firm conclusions.
Suggested hubs
-
occupational-exposure
(0.92) The review focuses on parental occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields.
View raw extracted JSON
{
"publication_year": null,
"study_type": "systematic_review",
"exposure": {
"band": "RF",
"source": "occupational",
"frequency_mhz": null,
"sar_wkg": null,
"duration": null
},
"population": "Children (offspring) in relation to parental occupational exposure",
"sample_size": 17,
"outcomes": [
"Childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumors",
"Childhood hematopoietic neoplasms (lymphoma, leukemia)"
],
"main_findings": "This systematic review identified 17 studies (13 case-control, 2 cohort, 2 meta-analyses) on parental occupational electromagnetic field exposure and childhood cancers. The authors report substantial methodological weaknesses and heterogeneity across studies and conclude the overall evidence is unclear, with no conclusive positive or negative association; they summarize that they did not find evidence of an association with childhood CNS tumors.",
"effect_direction": "unclear",
"limitations": [
"Most included studies had methodological weaknesses.",
"Heterogeneity in study methods and outcomes limited consistency of findings.",
"Lack of consistency across reviewed studies prevented firm conclusions."
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"evidence_strength": "high",
"confidence": 0.7399999999999999911182158029987476766109466552734375,
"peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
"stance": "neutral",
"stance_confidence": 0.7199999999999999733546474089962430298328399658203125,
"summary": "This PRISMA-guided systematic review searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science (1990–April 2021) for studies on parental occupational electromagnetic field exposure and childhood cancers. Seventeen articles met inclusion criteria, but the authors report substantial methodological weaknesses and heterogeneity. Overall, they conclude the evidence is unclear and does not allow a firm conclusion, and they summarize that they did not find evidence of an association with childhood CNS tumors.",
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"The review aimed to collate evidence on parental occupational electromagnetic field exposure and childhood CNS cancer risk.",
"Databases searched were PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for 1990 to April 2021 using an occupational/child/electromagnetic/cancer search string.",
"Seventeen studies were included: 13 case-control, two cohort studies, and two meta-analyses.",
"The authors report methodological weaknesses in most included studies.",
"Heterogeneity in methods and outcomes was highlighted as a likely reason for inconsistent findings.",
"The authors state the overall body of evidence is not clear and allows no conclusion on the association.",
"In summary, the review reports no evidence of an association between parental workplace electromagnetic field exposure and CNS tumors in offspring."
],
"categories": [
"Cancer",
"Occupational Exposure",
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"tags": [
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"PRISMA",
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"Parental Exposure",
"Childhood Cancer",
"Central Nervous System Tumors",
"Leukemia",
"Lymphoma",
"Case-Control Studies",
"Cohort Studies",
"Meta-Analyses",
"Methodological Heterogeneity"
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"keywords": [
"parental exposure",
"occupational",
"radiofrequency electromagnetic fields",
"RF-EMF",
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"central nervous system tumors",
"CNS cancer",
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"weight": 0.92000000000000003996802888650563545525074005126953125,
"reason": "The review focuses on parental occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields."
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"social": {
"tweet": "Systematic review (1990–2021) on parental occupational EMF exposure and childhood cancers found 17 studies but substantial heterogeneity and methodological weaknesses; overall evidence was unclear, with no conclusive association reported for childhood CNS tumors.",
"facebook": "A PRISMA-guided systematic review of 17 studies on parental occupational EMF exposure and childhood cancers reported major heterogeneity and methodological limitations. The authors concluded the evidence is unclear and did not support a conclusive association with childhood CNS tumors.",
"linkedin": "This PRISMA-based systematic review searched major databases (1990–2021) and included 17 studies on parental occupational EMF exposure and childhood cancers. Due to methodological weaknesses and heterogeneity, the authors concluded the evidence is unclear and reported no conclusive association for childhood CNS tumors."
}
}
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