Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field in the High-Frequency Band and Cognitive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Literature Review

Toru Ishihara, Keiko Yamazaki, Atsuko Araki, Yuri Teraoka, Naomi Tamura, Takashi Hikage, Manabu Omiya, Masahiro Mizuta and Reiko Kishi
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Toru Ishihara: Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
Keiko Yamazaki: Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
Atsuko Araki: Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
Yuri Teraoka: Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
Naomi Tamura: Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
Takashi Hikage: Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0814, Japan
Manabu Omiya: Information Initiative Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0811, Japan
Masahiro Mizuta: Information Initiative Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0811, Japan
Reiko Kishi: Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: With increasing use of mobile phones, exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) in the high-frequency band associated with mobile phones has become a public concern, with potentially adverse effects on cognitive function in children and adolescents. However, findings regarding the relation of RF-EMF and cognitive function in children and adolescents have been inconsistent due to a number of study design-related factors, such as types of exposure and outcome measures, age of participants, and the era of study conduction. The present literature review focused on these possible factors that could explain this inconsistency. This review identified 12 eligible studies (participants ages 4 to 17 years) and extracted a total 477 relations. In total, 86% of the extracted relations were not statistically significant; in the remaining 14%, a negative relation between RF-EMF and cognitive performance was detected under limited conditions: when (1) RF-EMF was assessed using objective measurement not subjective measurement (i.e., questionnaire), (2) participants were relatively older (12 years and above) and had greater opportunity of exposure to RF-EMF, and (3) the collection of cognitive function data was conducted after 2012. Given that 86% of the extracted relations in this analysis were not statistically significant, the interpretation should be approached with caution due to the possibility of the 14% of significant relationships, extracted in this review, representing chance findings.

Keywords: cognition; intelligence; memory; mobile phone; RF-EMF (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9179-:d:458876

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