Research

“As a mother, and former behavioural therapist for children, the health and well-being of young kids has always been at the forefront of my mind.” - Mona Bahari

Electromagnetic Radiation exposure has been linked to a number of health concerns. 

• Biological Effects

• Developmental and Behavioural Effects

Biological Effects

Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields has increased dramatically in our day and age. EMFs have a high penetration power that could have disastrous consequences on body tissues.

Postnatal radiation exposure can cause interference with fertility and endocrine function, alterations in sexual maturation, and interference with the development of the immune system. Endocrine disrupters may alter the function of the developing endocrine system and have adverse effects on the reproductive organs, liver, kidney, adrenal glands, CNS, immune system, cardiovascular system, and bones.

Infertility:

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology reported in 2015 that over Ten Million Men in North America are Infertile. Study after study mentions non-ionizing as a factor.

In 2018, the US National Library of Medicine published a study that concludes, “Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) have deleterious effects on sperm parameters (like sperm count, morphology, motility) and produce genotoxicity, genomic instability and oxidative stress. The study concludes that the RF-EMF may lead to infertility.”

Postnatal radiation exposure can cause interference with fertility and endocrine function and alterations in sexual maturation. It is well established that the “developing phase of the testicles is very sensitive to radio-frequency electro-magnetic field exposure from cell phones or other sources of microwaves, which may cause severe damages in the form of genotoxic effects.”

Radi Protection Website/Research While there are other factors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking cigarettes, frequent use of cell phone and other EMF devices contributes significantly to poor semen quality and induces sperm damage, which is closely related to male infertility.

 Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6240172/

Concerning their effect on the female reproductive system, there are also numerous studies outlining the negative impact of non-ionizing radiation.

Human Reproduction magazine published a study that shows EMFs are able to prevent the formation of antral follicles, which is significant as the higher number of antral follicles means the greater ovarian reserve.

In 2011, Obstetrics & Genealogy concluded that EMF exposure causes “profound changes in the ovary and could result in irreversible damage which may lead to subfertility.”

Electronic Physician magazine published a study in 2016 that concluded, “exposure to Electromagnetic Fields during embryonic development can cause morphological changes in oocytes and affect the differentiation of oocytes and folliculogenesis, resulting in decreased ovarian reserve leading to infertility or reduced fertility.”

Cancer:

Childhood exposure to radiation has been implicated in many diseases, including leukemia.

With rapid advances in EMF technologies and communications, children are increasingly exposed to EMFs at earlier and earlier ages. Exposure to radiation induces heating in body tissues and imposes a heat load on the whole body.

Consistent epidemiologic evidence of an association between childhood leukemia and exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields has led to their classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.” Concerns about the potential vulnerability of Radi Protection Website/Research children to radio frequency (RF) fields have been raised because of the potentially greater susceptibility of their developing nervous systems.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is “consistent evidence from epidemiologic studies of a risk of childhood leukemia associated with exposure to environmentally high levels of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields through disruption of the nocturnal production of melatonin in the pineal gland.” Although the evidence is regarded as insufficient to justify more restrictive limits on exposure, the possibility that exposure to electromagnetic fields increases risk cannot be discounted.

Developmental and Behavioural Effects

Nowadays, electromagnetic field-emitting devices are used routinely in our children’s lives. Aside from biological risks such as infertility and cancer, there are risks concerning the effects of mobile radiofrequency (RF) on childhood development and behaviour.

Concerns about the potential vulnerability of children to radio frequency (RF) fields have been raised because of the potentially greater susceptibility of their developing nervous systems.

Many studies are concerned with the impact of radiation on stress hormones. “Cell phone RF exposure has shown to induce significant hormonal and structural changes in adrenal gland and brain tissues. The adrenal glands are small glands located on top of each kidney. They produce hormones that you can't live without, including sex hormones and cortisol. Cortisol helps you respond to stress and has many other important functions.”

Alarmingly, studies show that children without emotional and behavioural difficulties at age 7 years, but who had cellphone exposures, had increased odds of emotional and behavioural difficulties at age 11 years.

Recent epidemiological studies provide substantial evidence that EMFs can produce patterns of neuropsychiatric effects. Among the more commonly reported changes are “sleep disturbance/insomnia, headache, depression/depressive symptoms, fatigue/tiredness, dysesthesia, concentration/attention dysfunction, memory changes, dizziness, irritability, loss of appetite/body weight, restlessness/anxiety, nausea, skin burning/tingling/dermographism and EEG changes.”

As the article points out, we can barely imagine how the combinations of neuropsychiatric effects will influence human behavior and social interactions, now that the majority of the human populations on earth are exposed to ever increasing intensities and diversity of microwave frequency EMFs. With ever increasing exposures in human populations, we have no idea what the consequences of these ever increasing exposures will be.