Correlation of Blood Oxidative Stress Parameters to Indoor Radiofrequency Radiation: A Cross Sectional Study in Jordan

2020 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1494

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Correlation of Blood Oxidative Stress Parameters to Indoor Radiofrequency Radiation: A Cross Sectional Study in Jordan Yazan Akkam, Ahmed A Al-Taani, Salam Ayasreh, Abeer Almutairi, Nosaibah Akkam. Correlation of Blood Oxidative Stress Parameters to Indoor Radiofrequency Radiation: A Cross Sectional Study in Jordan. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 29;17(13):E4673. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134673. Abstract Background: Electromagnetic pollution is a general health concern worldwide, as cell phone towers are ubiquitous and are located adjacent to or on the roof of schools, and hospitals. However, the health risks are still inconclusive. This cross-sectional study evaluated the potential effect of electromagnetic radiation generated from various resources including cell phone towers on blood glutathione S transferase activity (e-GST) and total antioxidant activity of the Jordanian population. Methods: The power density of three districts in the city of Irbid, Jordan was mapped to generate "outside the houses" and "inside the houses" maps. The effect of categorical variables (gender, using a cell phone, presence of Wi-Fi modem, previous exposure to medical imaging) and continuous variables (distance from the base station, the elevation of the house, the duration of stay in the house, power density outside houses, power density inside houses) on e-GST and total antioxidant activity were investigated. Results: The EMR generated outside the houses-including cell phone towers-did not reach inside the houses at the same power and had no significant influence on e-GST activity. The EMR inside the house, which primarily came from internal resources, has a significant effect on e-GST activity. The duration of stay inside the house, the use of cell phones, and the presence of a Wi-Fi modem had a proportional effect on e-GST activity. The total antioxidant activity was statistically equal between the tested and control groups. Conclusions: Several factors such as building materials restricted the penetration of EMR reaching inside the houses. EMR generated inside rather than outside the houses had a proportional effect on e-GST. The differences in e-GST were compensated successfully by other antioxidant mechanisms. Further research is needed to identify other possible sources of antioxidants, and to evaluate long-term effects and genetic polymorphism. Open access paper: mdpi.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional

Effect directionmixed

PopulationJordanian population in three districts of Irbid, Jordan

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF · duration of stay in the house (investigated as a continuous variable)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outdoor EMR (including from cell phone towers) did not reach inside houses at the same power and had no significant influence on e-GST activity. EMR inside the house (primarily from internal resources) had a significant effect on e-GST activity; duration of stay inside the house, cell phone use, and presence of a Wi‑Fi modem were proportional to e-GST activity. Total antioxidant activity was statistically equal between tested and control groups.

Outcomes measured

blood glutathione S transferase activity (e-GST)
total antioxidant activity
power density (inside houses)
power density (outside houses)

Limitations

Cross-sectional design (limits causal inference)
Health risks described as inconclusive in background
Further research needed to evaluate long-term effects and genetic polymorphism (as noted by authors)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "indoor sources (cell phones, Wi‑Fi modem) and outdoor base stations/cell phone towers",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "duration of stay in the house (investigated as a continuous variable)"
  },
  "population": "Jordanian population in three districts of Irbid, Jordan",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "blood glutathione S transferase activity (e-GST)",
    "total antioxidant activity",
    "power density (inside houses)",
    "power density (outside houses)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Outdoor EMR (including from cell phone towers) did not reach inside houses at the same power and had no significant influence on e-GST activity. EMR inside the house (primarily from internal resources) had a significant effect on e-GST activity; duration of stay inside the house, cell phone use, and presence of a Wi‑Fi modem were proportional to e-GST activity. Total antioxidant activity was statistically equal between tested and control groups.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Cross-sectional design (limits causal inference)",
    "Health risks described as inconclusive in background",
    "Further research needed to evaluate long-term effects and genetic polymorphism (as noted by authors)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency radiation",
    "electromagnetic radiation",
    "power density",
    "indoor exposure",
    "base stations",
    "cell phone towers",
    "Wi-Fi",
    "cell phone use",
    "oxidative stress",
    "glutathione S transferase",
    "total antioxidant activity",
    "Jordan",
    "Irbid"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.32,
      "reason": "Wi‑Fi modem presence was assessed as an indoor RF source."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17134673
PubMed: Not supplied

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