According to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), EMFs are “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The IARC believes that some studies show a possible link between EMFs and cancer in people.
EMFs are invisible, so we may not be aware of the
One item most people use every day that sends out EMFs is the cellphone. Use of cellphones has increased significantly since they were introduced in the 1980s. Concerned about human health and cellphone use, researchers began what would become the largest studyTrusted Source to compare cancer cases in cellphone users and nonusers back in 2000.
The researchers followed cancer rates and cellphone use in more than 5,000 people in 13 countries around the world. They found a loose connection between the highest rate of exposure and glioma, a type of cancer that occurs in the brain and spinal cord.
The gliomas were more often found on the same side of the head that people used to speak on the phone. However, the researchers concluded that there was not a strong enough connection to determine that cellphone use caused cancer in the research subjects.
In a smaller but more recent study, researchers found that people exposed to high levels of EMF for years at a time showed an increased risk of a certain type of leukemia in adults.
European scientists also uncovered an apparent link between EMF and leukemia in children. But they say that monitoring of EMF is lacking, so they’re not able to draw any certain conclusions from their work, and more research and better monitoring is needed.
A review of more than two dozen studies on low-frequency EMFs suggests these energy fields may cause various neurological and psychiatric problems in people. This studyTrusted Source found a link between EMF exposure and changes in human nerve function throughout the body, affecting things like sleep and mood.
