Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts
Exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) (frequencies of 100 kHz to 300 GHz) has been steadily increasing. In addition to heat-related effects of RF EMF, other yet-unspecified biological effects, might exist which could possibly lead to health effects. Given the large number of h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020322558 |
| _version_ | 1823958718244454400 |
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| author | Jos Verbeek Gunnhild Oftedal Maria Feychting Eric van Rongen Maria Rosaria Scarfì Simon Mann Rachel Wong Emilie van Deventer |
| author_facet | Jos Verbeek Gunnhild Oftedal Maria Feychting Eric van Rongen Maria Rosaria Scarfì Simon Mann Rachel Wong Emilie van Deventer |
| author_sort | Jos Verbeek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) (frequencies of 100 kHz to 300 GHz) has been steadily increasing. In addition to heat-related effects of RF EMF, other yet-unspecified biological effects, might exist which could possibly lead to health effects. Given the large number of health endpoints that have been studied, we wanted to prioritize those that would merit systematic reviews.We developed a survey listing of all health endpoints reported in the literature and we asked 300 RF EMF experts and researchers to prioritize these health effects for systematic review as critical, important or unimportant. We also asked the experts to provide the rationale for their prioritization.Of the 300 RF EMF experts queried, 164 (54%) responded. They rated cancer, heat-related effects, adverse birth outcomes, electromagnetic hypersensitivity, cognitive impairment, adverse pregnancy outcomes and oxidative stress as outcomes most critical regarding RF EMF exposure. For these outcomes, systematic reviews are needed. For heat-related outcomes, the experts based their ranking of the critical outcomes on what is known from human or animal studies, and for cancer and other outcomes, they based their rating also on public concern.To assess health risks of an exposure in a robust manner, it is important to prioritize the health outcomes that should be systematically reviewed. Here we have shown that it feasible to do so in an inclusive and transparent way. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T16:21:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a0ae9a5f6f84975b60b389e7035bb27 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T16:21:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a0ae9a5f6f84975b60b389e7035bb272022-12-21T21:41:31ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202021-01-01146106300Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among expertsJos Verbeek0Gunnhild Oftedal1Maria Feychting2Eric van Rongen3Maria Rosaria Scarfì4Simon Mann5Rachel Wong6Emilie van Deventer7Amsterdam University Medical Center, Cochrane Work Review Group, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Corresponding author at: Amsterdam University Medical Center, Cochrane Work Review Group, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Department of Electronic Systems, Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU, Trondheim, NorwayUnit of Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenHealth Council of the Netherlands, Den Haag, the NetherlandsNational Research Council, Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, Naples, ItalyPublic Health England, Chilton, Didcot, United KingdomUniversity of Toronto, Toronto, CanadaDepartment of Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandExposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) (frequencies of 100 kHz to 300 GHz) has been steadily increasing. In addition to heat-related effects of RF EMF, other yet-unspecified biological effects, might exist which could possibly lead to health effects. Given the large number of health endpoints that have been studied, we wanted to prioritize those that would merit systematic reviews.We developed a survey listing of all health endpoints reported in the literature and we asked 300 RF EMF experts and researchers to prioritize these health effects for systematic review as critical, important or unimportant. We also asked the experts to provide the rationale for their prioritization.Of the 300 RF EMF experts queried, 164 (54%) responded. They rated cancer, heat-related effects, adverse birth outcomes, electromagnetic hypersensitivity, cognitive impairment, adverse pregnancy outcomes and oxidative stress as outcomes most critical regarding RF EMF exposure. For these outcomes, systematic reviews are needed. For heat-related outcomes, the experts based their ranking of the critical outcomes on what is known from human or animal studies, and for cancer and other outcomes, they based their rating also on public concern.To assess health risks of an exposure in a robust manner, it is important to prioritize the health outcomes that should be systematically reviewed. Here we have shown that it feasible to do so in an inclusive and transparent way.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020322558Radiofrequency electromagnetic fieldsMobile phonesAdverse health effectsWorld Health OrganizationSystematic reviewPriority setting |
| spellingShingle | Jos Verbeek Gunnhild Oftedal Maria Feychting Eric van Rongen Maria Rosaria Scarfì Simon Mann Rachel Wong Emilie van Deventer Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts Environment International Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields Mobile phones Adverse health effects World Health Organization Systematic review Priority setting |
| title | Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts |
| title_full | Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts |
| title_fullStr | Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts |
| title_short | Prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: A survey among experts |
| title_sort | prioritizing health outcomes when assessing the effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields a survey among experts |
| topic | Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields Mobile phones Adverse health effects World Health Organization Systematic review Priority setting |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020322558 |
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