Gaby
Most people hold their phones against their heads, and phones emit radiofrequency energy. For years, that combo has fueled worries that these devices might raise the risk of brain cancer.
But a large body of research has found no link between mobile phone radio waves and brain cancer or other health problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) moved to settle the question: it commissioned a large-scale review with researchers from 10 countries. That multinational team analyzed results from about 5,000 studies published between 1994 and 2022.
Where Did Doubts About Phone Safety Come From?
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of WHO, classified radio wave exposure as a possible carcinogen for humans. The meaning of that label was widely misunderstood, which increased public concern.
The IARC’s classification rested mainly on limited observational data. Those kinds of studies are useful, but they can be prone to bias.
In this case, the IARC relied on observational studies in which people with brain cancer reported heavy mobile phone use.
What Did the Authors of the New Global Study Discover?
A new systematic review—reported by ScienceAlert—offers the strongest evidence yet that radio waves from wireless technology don’t harm human health.
The final analysis drew on 63 studies out of the roughly 5,000 reviewed. It found no link between mobile phone use and brain cancer or any other cancer.
Researchers also found no association even among people who had used mobile phones for 10 years or more. Neither how often someone used their phone nor how much time they spent on it changed the result.
These findings match many earlier studies. Researchers also pointed out that while wireless use has soared in recent decades, brain cancer rates have not increased.
Mobile phones emit low-level radio waves, and there is no evidence that those emissions harm human health.
The study’s results were published in the journal Environment International.
