Spatial and temporal variability of personal exposure to RF EMF in children in Europe

2018 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 2112

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Spatial and temporal variability of personal exposure to RF EMF in children in Europe Birks LE, Struchen B, Eeftens M, Huss A, Gajšek P, Kheifets L, Gallastegi M, van Wel L, Dalmau-Bueno A, Estarlich M, Fernandez M, Meder IK, Ferrero A, Jiménez-Zabala A, Torrent M, Vrijkotte TGM, Cardis E, Olsen J, Valič B, Vermeulen R, Vrijheid M, Röösli M, Guxens M. OP VI - 5 Spatial and temporal variability of personal exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields in children in europe. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 75(Suppl 1):A13.1-A13. March 2018. DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2018-ISEEabstracts.31 Conference: ISEE Young 2018, Early Career Researchers Conference on Environmental Epidemiology - Together for a Healthy Environment, 19-20 March 2018, Freising, Germany Abstract Background/aim Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has rapidly increased and little is known about exposure levels in children. This study aims to describe personal RF-EMF environmental exposure levels from handheld devices and fixed site transmitters in European children and its day-to-day and year-to- year repeatability. Methods Environmental RF-EMF exposure (µW/m²) was measured in 529 children (ages 8-18) in Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain using personal portable exposure metres over 3 days in 2014- 2016, and repeated in 28 children one year later. Metres captured exposure every 4 s. Activity diaries collected children's location and use of mobile devices. Six general frequency bands were defined: total, digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT), television and radio antennas (broadcast), mobile phones (uplink), mobile phone base stations (downlink), and WiFi. We used mixed effects models with region random effects to estimate associations between mobile device use and exposure. Day-to-day and year-to-year repeatability was calculated through Spearman correlations. Results Median total exposure was 75.5 µW/m². Downlink was the largest contributor to total exposure (27.2 µW/m²) followed by broadcast (9.9 µW/m²). Exposure from uplink was lower (4.7 µW/m²). WiFi and DECT contributed very little to exposure levels. Exposure was higher during day (94.2 µW/m²) than night (23.0 µW/m²), and slightly higher during weekends than weekdays, although varying across regions. Exposure was generally highest while children were travelling (171.3 µW/m²) and outside (157.0 µW/m²). Children living in urban environments had higher exposure. Older children, girls, and users of mobile phones had higher uplink exposure but not total exposure. Repeatability was high for total, downlink, and broadcast in the year-to-year repeatability (rho between 0.54 and 0.66). Conclusion Largest contributors to total RF-EMF exposure were downlink and broadcast, which was consistent one year later. Location of home (region and urbanicity) was associated with higher exposure. More frequent mobile phone use was associated with higher uplink exposure. It is important to continue evaluating RF-EMF exposure in children as mobile devices, use habits, and technologies continue to evolve. oem.bmj.com

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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 typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionunclear

PopulationChildren (ages 8–18) in Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain

Sample size529

ExposureRF · personal portable exposure metres over 3 days (2014–2016); subset repeated one year later

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: unknown

Main findings

Median total exposure was 75.5 µW/m²; downlink contributed most (27.2 µW/m²) followed by broadcast (9.9 µW/m²). Exposure was higher during day than night, generally highest while travelling and outside, and higher in urban environments; more frequent mobile phone use was associated with higher uplink exposure but not total exposure. Year-to-year repeatability was reported as high for total, downlink, and broadcast (rho 0.54–0.66) in the subset measured again after one year.

Outcomes measured

Personal environmental RF-EMF exposure (µW/m²) by band (total, DECT, broadcast, uplink, downlink, WiFi)
Spatial/temporal variability (day vs night; weekend vs weekday; location/activity; urban vs non-urban)
Day-to-day repeatability (Spearman correlation)
Year-to-year repeatability (Spearman correlation)
Associations between mobile device use and exposure (mixed effects models)

Limitations

Conference abstract with limited methodological detail
Only 28 children had repeat measurements one year later
Frequency (MHz) details not provided in the abstract
Potential for exposure meter measurement limitations not described in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "personal exposure from handheld devices and fixed site transmitters (mobile phones uplink, base stations downlink, WiFi, DECT, broadcast)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "personal portable exposure metres over 3 days (2014–2016); subset repeated one year later"
  },
  "population": "Children (ages 8–18) in Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain",
  "sample_size": 529,
  "outcomes": [
    "Personal environmental RF-EMF exposure (µW/m²) by band (total, DECT, broadcast, uplink, downlink, WiFi)",
    "Spatial/temporal variability (day vs night; weekend vs weekday; location/activity; urban vs non-urban)",
    "Day-to-day repeatability (Spearman correlation)",
    "Year-to-year repeatability (Spearman correlation)",
    "Associations between mobile device use and exposure (mixed effects models)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Median total exposure was 75.5 µW/m²; downlink contributed most (27.2 µW/m²) followed by broadcast (9.9 µW/m²). Exposure was higher during day than night, generally highest while travelling and outside, and higher in urban environments; more frequent mobile phone use was associated with higher uplink exposure but not total exposure. Year-to-year repeatability was reported as high for total, downlink, and broadcast (rho 0.54–0.66) in the subset measured again after one year.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Conference abstract with limited methodological detail",
    "Only 28 children had repeat measurements one year later",
    "Frequency (MHz) details not provided in the abstract",
    "Potential for exposure meter measurement limitations not described in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "children",
    "personal exposure meter",
    "Europe",
    "downlink",
    "uplink",
    "base stations",
    "mobile phone use",
    "WiFi",
    "DECT",
    "broadcast",
    "spatial variability",
    "temporal variability",
    "repeatability"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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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: 10.1136/oemed-2018-iseeabstracts.31
PubMed: Not supplied

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