Major WHO-backed study revives conversation about cell phones and cancer risk

Almost as quickly as cell phones became an extension of our hands, they also began to prompt conversations about cancer risks, as they emit low levels of non-ionizing radiation.

In 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer added radiofrequency radiation from mobile phones to its list of possibly carcinogenic based on limited information at the time. This was not a definitive claim, but rather a call for more research to determine whether radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from cell phones could pose a real threat to human health and increase the risk of cancer.

In recent years and across different research groups, a general consensus has emerged that while it is difficult or impossible to say with certainty that the use of mobile phones or technology is not associated with cancer, given their relative newness and the need for caution in drawing conclusions in scientific research, is no credible or reliable evidence linking phones on health effects in humans, including cancer.

This week a large systematic review Commissioned by the WHO, this was taken one step further: a final selection of 63 studies from 1994 to 2022 showed that radiofrequency radiation from mobile phones probably does not lead to an increased risk of brain tumors.

“When we’re talking about these big health problems, I think we pretty much have the answer,” said Dr. Timothy Rebbeck, a professor of cancer prevention at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a professor of medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, about the back-and-forth over cellphones and cancer risk. And Rebbeck said that while there’s less research on newer technologies like Bluetooth devices than there has been on cellphones, the fact that they all have low levels of the same type of generally harmless radiation should reassure technology users.

While it may seem trivial to some technology enthusiasts to relive the conversation about cancer and cell phones, there are limitations in smaller and earlier studies, the nature of how cancer develops (it often takes a few hours for cancer to resolve). many years for tumors to develop) and the way we’ve become so reliant on cell phones has made it difficult to definitively rule out long-term health risks from cell phones, or consumer technology in general. In addition to cell phone use, we now literally wear technology in the form of smart rings and smartwatches, sleep with it, exercise with it, and even rely on it to tell us when to get up and stretch our legs.

As our reliance on consumer technology grows, so must our expectations of research to continue to confirm that it’s safe for us to use. From brain tumors to sperm counts, here’s what we know today about research on cell phones, radiation, Bluetooth, and health.

What Cell Phones Emitter: Non-Ionizing Radiation vs. Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation is the type of radiation found in nuclear power. To varying degrees it is used in radiotherapy and medical diagnostic scans such as X-rays and CT (computer tomography) scans.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are exposed to low levels of radiation every day, even in nature. However, exposure to ionizing radiation is a cause for concern because it can effectively penetrate the cells of the body and – in large doses – pose health risks to humans because it DNA damage.

Cell phones and the technology that has helped us build close, personal relationships over the millennia emit low levels of not-ionizing radiofrequency radiation, which cannot effectively change cells the way ionizing radiation can. According to the Food and Drug Administration, ionizing radiation carries more than a billion times more energy than non-ionizing radiation.

Equipment that emits radio frequency radiation must comply with exposure limits set by the Federal Communications Commission, and portable devices transmit very low levels of non-ionizing radiation. In addition to mobile technology, radio frequency radiation is found in other daily articlesincluding light bulbs, GPS and microwaves.

According to Rebbeck, “biologically speaking” we basically don’t have to worry about cell phones and non-ionizing radiation.

“It’s radiation, but it’s not the kind of radiation that actually causes cancer,” he said. “The only environment where non-ionizing radiation is known to cause cancer is sun exposure.”

Rebbeck said some of the cancer concerns surrounding cell phones stem from findings that technology generate heatwhich can damage tissues and cells in a similar way to sunburn or cooking food.

But the way people use devices in general should mitigate this risk, making it largely irrelevant to human exposure, he added. For example, you’re no longer going to hold a device that’s too hot against your skin. And that probably means there’s something wrong with your phone.

Health concerns surrounding Bluetooth devices are also reaching health circles: do Bluetooth devices pose health risks?

Some people are concerned about the impact of devices that use Bluetooth, a technology that uses radio frequencies to transmit signals over short distances.

But for people concerned about RF-EMF, relying more on Bluetooth devices than a phone may actually be the preferred method. According to the National Cancer InstituteResearch has shown that Bluetooth devices such as earbuds and headphones emit short-range signals that emit radio frequency waves with power 10 to 400 times lower than that of mobile phones.

“We don’t have the same kind of data as we do from mobile phones, but there is no evidence that this kind of data [Bluetooth] “Exposure to this substance could cause cancer through normal use,” said Rebbeck, who added that the substance also dissipates very quickly.

“If you have a Bluetooth device and you hold it a foot away, you’re not really exposed to radiation,” he said.

Sperm count, fertility and various questions about mobile phones

Suggestions from medical experts to prevent this exposure to hot laptops (or other warm objects) in men trying to conceive has to do with the fact that healthy sperm production is affected by high temperatures near the testicles. However, the impact of cell phone use on sperm quality and count has been a growing topic of discussion for years.

A multi-year study published in December 2023 in Fertility and Sterility found a link between increased use of mobile phones with poorer sperm qualityalthough the study authors wrote that the association was strongest between 2005 and 2007 and decreased as the years passed, suggesting that the “transition to new technologies” and the “corresponding decrease in phone power output” may have contributed to the potential impact.

In another WHO-backed systematic review Published this summer on the potential impact of radio frequency exposure on male fertility, researchers found that there may be little or no effect on sperm or semen quality if you carry your phone in your front pocket, and no conclusive evidence of the fertility impact of RF-EMF and cell phone use. They also called for more rigorous studies.

Reproductive health is a largely understudied area of ​​medicine in general, and hormones and factors that influence reproductive health can influenced by many elements from our environment scientists are just beginning to understand. These elements include pollutionadditives to our food, scents in everyday products and more.

Cancer Risk: The Heart of the Matter

Aside from cell phone use, there are lifestyle and health factors with strong evidence for their cancer risk. According to Rebbeck, the real cancer risks we should be most concerned about correcting include smoking, eating a lot of processed foods, and drinking alcohol.

“There are many things you can choose in your life that will dramatically change your risk,” Rebbeck said.