Effect of Occupational Exposure to Radar Radiation on Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2019 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 1645

Six studies (total sample size 53,008) were included. Pooled random-effects estimates suggested no significant increase in mortality ratio (MR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.78–0.83) and a pooled relative risk for cancer of RR=0.87 (95% CI: 0.75–0.99) with significant heter…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typemeta_analysis

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effect of Occupational Exposure to Radar Radiation on Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Variani AS, Saboori S, Shahsavari S, Saeed Yari S, Zaroushani V. Effect of Occupational Exposure to Radar Radiation on Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 20 (11): 3211-3219. 2019 Nov 1. DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.11.3211. Abstract Objective: Microwave radiation is one of the most growing environmental workplace factors that exposes too many workers in the various workplaces. Regard to concerns about cancer incidence in these workers and lack of systematic or meta-analytic studies about this object, so, we conducted a meta-analysis to acquire an understanding of the association between cancer risk and occupational exposure to radar radiation. Methods: A systematic search was carried out on case-control, cohort and clinical control trial studies that published in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and Google scholar databases that accomplished from March 2017 to March 2018 and updated on 30 September, 2018 in English and Persian articles without time limit in publication date. Keywords were selected based on PICO principle and collected from MeSH database. After removal of duplicated studied, taking into inclusion and exclusion criteria, the process of screening was carried out and data were extracted after preparation of the full text of included articles. Article collection was completed by manually searching for a reference list of eligible studies. For quality assessment of included studies, Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used. Results: a total of 533 studies was found in the first step of literature search, only 6 were included with 53,008 sample size according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Estimated pooled random effects size analysis showed no significant increasing effect of occupational exposure to radar radiation on mortality rate (MR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.78, 0.83) and relative risk (RR=0.87, 95%CI: 0.75, 0.99, P <0.0001) of cancer with a significant heterogeneity between the selected studies. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results of this meta-analysis study have shown no significant increase in overall mortality ratio and cancer risk ratio from occupational exposure to the radar frequency of workers. But, these results are not conclusive. As regards to some limitation such as fewer numbers of included studies, lack of data about exposure characterizations and demographic characterizations in this meta-analysis, this result is not certain and conclusive. It is recommended to conduct future studies. Open access paper: journal.waocp.org

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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 typemeta_analysis

Effect directionunclear

PopulationWorkers with occupational exposure to radar radiation

Sample size53008

Exposuremicrowave

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Cancer risk (relative risk)
Cancer mortality (mortality ratio)
Overall mortality ratio

Limitations

Only 6 studies included
Significant heterogeneity between selected studies
Lack of data about exposure characterizations
Lack of data about demographic characterizations

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "meta_analysis",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "microwave",
    "source": "occupational (radar)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Workers with occupational exposure to radar radiation",
  "sample_size": 53008,
  "outcomes": [
    "Cancer risk (relative risk)",
    "Cancer mortality (mortality ratio)",
    "Overall mortality ratio"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Six studies (total sample size 53,008) were included. Pooled random-effects estimates suggested no significant increase in mortality ratio (MR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.78–0.83) and a pooled relative risk for cancer of RR=0.87 (95% CI: 0.75–0.99) with significant heterogeneity across studies; authors conclude results are not conclusive.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Only 6 studies included",
    "Significant heterogeneity between selected studies",
    "Lack of data about exposure characterizations",
    "Lack of data about demographic characterizations"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "occupational exposure",
    "radar radiation",
    "microwave radiation",
    "cancer risk",
    "mortality ratio",
    "relative risk",
    "systematic review",
    "meta-analysis",
    "Newcastle-Ottawa scale"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.95,
      "reason": "Focuses on occupational exposure to radar radiation among workers and cancer outcomes."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.31557/apjcp.2019.20.11.3211
PubMed: Not supplied

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