Dr. Weeks’ Comment: Over the past 15 years, I have seen a great spectrum of illness in my patients created by electrical pollution from 1) cell phones – often held in bras or pockets near testicles, 2) microwave ovens, 3) ipads held on stomachs of pregnant mothers creating brain cancer in the fetus, 4) portable DECT phone bases which act like a radar installation right near patient’s head when they sleep, 5) electrical pollution from wind power generation and solar power generation (inadequate inverters), 6) WIFI usage, 7) smart meters (really should be called dumb and dangerous meters) and other forms of electrical pollution.
I have recommended smart use of cell phones. I have recommended electroclearing homes and schools. And I have recommended reverting to telephone land lines and wired internet connections. I studied political philosophy years ago at Dartmouth College whose motto was “Vox Clamatis in Deserto” – a voice crying in the wilderness – in reference to St. John and also to the fact that Dartmouth was founded in the wilderness of New Hampshire – far from any city. But in so far as I have championed intergrative or holistic medicine, I have been myself crying in the wilderness for the past 35 years – almost without exception a minority voice but, like St. John, I like to think that I have Truth on my side more often than not!
Now the tide of science has begun to vindicate my concerns about electrical pollution – the toxic effect of these delightfully seductive and addictive conveniences in our lives… constant contact with portable phones, instant heating of coffee with microwaves, no need to plug in for internet connection and so, once again, I share the science which damns these polluting devices. Use them at your PERIL!
The following data and analysis is thanks to another voice crying in the wilderness: Dr. Joel M. Moskowitz, Director Center for Family and Community Health School of Public Health University of California, Berkeley
“Over 150 pages of letters from doctors opposing or showing concern over cell phone and wireless technologies, particularly in their use by children, including American Academy of Pediatrics
Please see email from Dr. Moskowitz below regarding a new PEER-REVIEWED study about CUMULATIVE wireless radiation exposure to the brain over one year having a negative effect on memory in adolescents, to be published online July 23, 2018. This replicates results of a study in 2015 by one of the authors. These 2 are the WORLD’s FIRST epidemiological studies to estimate cumulative RF-EMF brain dose in adolescents.
Mobile phone radiation may affect memory performance in adolescents
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, EurekAlert, Jul 19, 2018
The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT) goes along with an increase in exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in our daily life. The most relevant exposure source to the brain is the use of a mobile phone close to the head. Several studies have been conducted to identify potential health effects related to RF-EMF, though results have remained inconclusive.
The research conducted by scientists at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) looked at the relationship between exposure to RF-EMF from wireless communication devices and memory performance in adolescents. The study follows up a report published in the scientific journal Environment International in 2015 with twice the sample size and more recent information on the absorption of RF-EMF in adolescents’ brains during different types of wireless communication device use. These are the world’s first epidemiological studies to estimate cumulative RF-EMF brain dose in adolescents.
Media usage and brain exposure in young adults
The study to be published on 19 July 2018 found that cumulative RF-EMF brain exposure from mobile phone use over one year may have a negative effect on the development of figural memory performance in adolescents, confirming prior results published in 2015. Figural memory is mainly located in the right brain hemisphere and association with RF-EMF was more pronounced in adolescents using the mobile phone on the right side of the head. “This may suggest that indeed RF-EMF absorbed by the brain is responsible for the observed associations.” said Martin Röösli, Head of Environmental Exposures and Health at Swiss TPH.
Other aspects of wireless communication use, such as sending text messages, playing games or browsing the Internet cause only marginal RF-EMF exposure to the brain and were NOT associated with the development of memory performance. “A unique feature of this study is the use of objectively collected mobile phone user data from mobile phone operators.” said Röösli. He emphasized that further research is needed to rule out the influence of other factors. “For instance, the study results could have been affected by puberty, which affects both mobile phone use and the participant’s cognitive and behavioural state.”
The data gathered from the Health Effects Related to Mobile phone usE in adolescentS (HERMES) cohort looked at the relationship between exposure to RF-EMF and development of memory performance of almost 700 adolescents over the course of one year. Participants, aged 12 to 17 years, were recruited from 7th to 9th public school grades in urban and rural areas of Swiss-German speaking Switzerland.
Minimizing the risk of RF-EMF exposure
The potential effect of RF-EMF exposure to the brain is a relatively new field of scientific inquiry. “It is not yet clear how RF-EMF could potentially affect brain processes or how relevant our findings are in the long-term.” said Röösli. “Potential risks to the brain can be minimised by using headphones or the loud speaker while calling, in particular when network quality is low and the mobile phone is functioning at maximum power.”
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About the publication
The study was conducted by Swiss TPH in collaboration with the European Union project GERoNiMO, which aims to improve the knowledge of whether and to what extent RF-EMF affects health. The work on dose calculations was conducted in collaboration with Belgian scientists. The project was funded by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Foerster M., Thielens A., Joseph W., Eeftens M., Röösli M. (2018) A prospective cohort study of adolescents’ memory performance and individual brain dose of microwave radiation from wireless communication. Environmental Health Perspectives. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ehp2747
Schoeni A., Roser K., Röösli M. (2015) Memory performance, wireless communication and exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: a prospective cohort study in adolescents. Environmental International. Volume 85. Page 343-351.
Media Contact
Martin Röösli, PhD, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Head of the Environmental Exposures and Health Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Tel +41 61 284 8383, martin.roosli@swissph.ch
Sabina Beatrice-Matter, Head of Communications, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Tel +41 61 284 8364, Mob +41 79 737 9158, sabina.beatrice@swisstph.ch
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New Study
Foerster M., Thielens A., Joseph W., Eeftens M., Röösli M. (2018) A prospective cohort study of adolescents’ memory performance and individual brain dose of microwave radiation from wireless communication. Environmental Health Perspectives. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ehp2747
Milena Foerster,1,2 Arno Thielens,3,4 Wout Joseph,4,5 Marloes Eeftens,1,2 and Martin Röösli1,2
1 Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
2 University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
3 Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Berkeley Wireless Research Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
4 Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), Leuven, Belgium
5 Department of Information Technology, Waves research group, Ghent University
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The potential impact of microwave radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by wireless communication devices on neurocognitive functions of adolescents is controversial. In a previous analysis, we found changes in figural memory scores associated with a higher cumulative RF-EMF brain dose in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to follow-up our previous results using a new study population, dose estimation, and approach to controlling for confounding from media usage itself.
METHODS: RF-EMF brain dose for each participant was modeled. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted on verbal and figural memory score changes over 1 y and on estimated cumulative brain dose and RF-EMF related and unrelated media usage (n=669–676). Because of the hemispheric lateralization of memory, we conducted a laterality analysis for phone call ear preference. To control for the confounding of media use behaviors, a stratified analysis for different media usage groups was also conducted.
RESULTS: We found decreased figural memory scores in association with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in estimated cumulative RF-EMF brain dose scores: −0:22 (95% CI: −0:47, 0.03; IQR: 953 mJ=kg per day) in the whole sample, −0:39 (95% CI: −0:67, −0:10; IQR: 953 mJ=kg per day) in right-side users (n=532), and −0:26 (95% CI: −0:42, −0:10; IQR: 341 mJ=kg per day) when recorded network operator data were used for RF-EMF dose estimation (n=274). Media usage unrelated to RF-EMF did not show significant associations or consistent patterns, with the exception of consistent (nonsignificant) positive associations between data traffic duration and verbal memory.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings for a cohort of Swiss adolescents require confirmation in other populations but suggest a potential adverse effect of of RF-EMF brain dose on cognitive functions that involve brain regions mostly exposed during mobile phone use. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2427
Excerpts
How RF-EMF interacts with the brain is still unclear and no biophysical model exists for SAR values that do not noticeably increase the body temperature (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection 2010; Redmayne 2016). It may be speculated that our results are related to relatively consistently observed alterations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) during sleep in randomized crossover studies of participants exposed to mobile phone radiation prior to sleep (Loughran et al. 2012; Lustenberger et al. 2013; Regel et al. 2007; Schmid et al. 2012). Disturbed sleep negatively affects memory consolidation, in particular, in relation to abstract and complex tasks involving higher brain functions (Kopasz et al. 2010). Lustenberger et al. (2013) observed reduced overnight performance improvement in a motor sequence task after
a night with RF-EMF exposure compared with the sham condition. Thus, future studies should clarify whether RF-EMF has
an impact on sleep-facilitated learning processes via altered sleep brain activity.
Conclusion
We found preliminary evidence suggesting that RF-EMF may affect brain functions such as figural memory in regions that are
most exposed during mobile phone use. Our findings do not provide conclusive evidence of causal effects and should be interpreted with caution until confirmed in other populations. Associations with media use parameters with low RF-EMF exposures did not provide clear or consistent support of effects of media use unrelated to RF-EMF (with the possible exception of consistent positive associations between verbal memory and data traffic duration). It is not yet clear which brain processes could be potentially affected and what biophysical mechanism may play a role. Potential long-term risk can be minimized by avoiding high brain-exposure situations as occurs when using a mobile phone with maximum power close to the ear because of, for example, bad network quality.
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2015 Study
Schoeni A., Roser K., Röösli M. (2015) Memory performance, wireless communication and exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: a prospective cohort study in adolescents. Environmental International. Volume 85. Page 343-351.
Highlights
- This is a prospective cohort study with approx. one year of follow-up.
- Self-reported and operator recorded mobile phone use data were collected.
- The cumulative RF-EMF dose for the brain and for the whole body was calculated.
- Associations were stronger for RF-EMF dose than for use of wireless devices.
- RF-EMF exposure might impair memory performance in adolescents.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to investigate whether memory performance in adolescents is affected by radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from wireless device use or by the wireless device use itself due to non-radiation related factors in that context.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study with 439 adolescents. Verbal and figural memory tasks at baseline and after one year were completed using a standardized, computerized cognitive test battery. Use of wireless devices was inquired by questionnaire and operator recorded mobile phone use data was obtained for a subgroup of 234 adolescents. RF-EMF dose measures considering various factors affecting RF-EMF exposure were computed for the brain and the whole body. Data were analysed using a longitudinal approach, to investigate whether cumulative exposure over one year was related to changes in memory performance. All analyses were adjusted for relevant confounders.
RESULTS: The kappa coefficients between cumulative mobile phone call duration and RF-EMF brain and whole body dose were 0.62 and 0.67, respectively for the whole sample and 0.48 and 0.28, respectively for the sample with operator data. In linear exposure-response models an interquartile increase in cumulative operator recorded mobile phone call duration was associated with a decrease in figural memory performance score by -0.15 (95% CI: -0.33, 0.03) units. For cumulative RF-EMF brain and whole body dose corresponding decreases in figural memory scores were -0.26 (95% CI: -0.42, -0.10) and -0.40 (95% CI: -0.79, -0.01), respectively. No exposure-response associations were observed for sending text messages and duration of gaming, which produces tiny RF-EMF emissions.
CONCLUSIONS: A change in memory performance over one year was negatively associated with cumulative duration of wireless phone use and more strongly with RF-EMF dose. This may indicate that RF-EMF exposure affects memory performance.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412015300659?via%3Dihub
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Related posts on Electromagnetic Radiation Safety
Key Cell Phone Radiation Research Studies
Effects of Cell Phone Use on Adolescents “
Research on Smart Phone and Internet Addiction
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Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley
Electromagnetic Radiation Safety
Website: https://www.saferemr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaferEMR
Twitter: @berkeleyprc