The Effect of Continuous Low-Intensity Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Radio Base Stations to Cancer Mortality in Brazil

Nádia Cristina Pinheiro Rodrigues, Adilza Condessa Dode, Mônica Kramer de Noronha Andrade, Gisele O’Dwyer, Denise Leite Maia Monteiro, Inês Nascimento Carvalho Reis, Roberto Pinheiro Rodrigues, Vera Cecília Frossard and Valéria Teresa Saraiva Lino
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Nádia Cristina Pinheiro Rodrigues: Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Adilza Condessa Dode: Instituto Metodista Izabela Hendrix, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 30160-012, Brazil
Mônica Kramer de Noronha Andrade: Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Gisele O’Dwyer: Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Denise Leite Maia Monteiro: Medical Sciences College, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro 20550-170, Brazil
Inês Nascimento Carvalho Reis: Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Roberto Pinheiro Rodrigues: Federal Center for Technological Education Celso Suckow da Fonseca, Rio de Janeiro 20271-110, Brazil
Vera Cecília Frossard: Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Valéria Teresa Saraiva Lino: Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: Background: this study aims to estimate the rate of death by cancer as a result of Radio Base Station (RBS) radiofrequency exposure, especially for breast, cervix, lung, and esophagus cancers. Methods: we collected information on the number of deaths by cancer, gender, age group, gross domestic product per capita, death year, and the amount of exposure over a lifetime. We investigated all cancer types and some specific types (breast, cervix, lung, and esophagus cancers). Results: in capitals where RBS radiofrequency exposure was higher than 2000/antennas-year, the average mortality rate was 112/100,000 for all cancers. The adjusted analysis showed that, the higher the exposure to RBS radiofrequency, the higher cancer mortality was. The highest adjusted risk was observed for cervix cancer (rate ratio = 2.18). The spatial analysis showed that the highest RBS radiofrequency exposure was observed in a city in southern Brazil that also showed the highest mortality rate for all types of cancer and specifically for lung and breast cancer. Conclusion: the balance of our results indicates that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from RBS increases the rate of death for all types of cancer.

Keywords: cancer; mortality; electromagnetic fields; breast neoplasms; lung neoplasms; esophageal neoplasms; uterine cervical neoplasms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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