Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) exposure on male fertility and pregnancy and birth outcomes: Protocols for a systematic review of experimental studies in non-human mammals and in human sperm exposed in vitro.

Environment international · 2021 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

← Research stream

UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 5677

This article describes protocols for a systematic review of experimental studies assessing effects of controlled RF-EMF exposures (100 kHz–300 GHz) on male fertility and pregnancy/birth outcomes. No results are reported in the abstract.

Study snapshot

PublicationEnvironment international · 2021

Study typesystematic_review

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) at environmental level have been reported to induce adverse effects on the male reproductive system and developing embryos. However, despite the number of experiments conducted since the 1970s, the diversity of testing approaches and exposure conditions, inconsistencies among results, and dosimetric flaws have not yet permitted a solid assessment of the relationship between RF-EMF exposure and such effects, warranting a more systematic and methodologically rigorous approach to the evaluation of available data. OBJECTIVES: This study aims at evaluating the effects of RF-EMF exposure on male fertility and pregnancy outcomes by a systematic review (SR) of experimental studies, conducted in compliance with international guidelines. The evidence will be organized into three streams: 1) Studies evaluating the impact of RF-EMF on the male reproductive system of experimental mammals; 2) studies evaluating the impact of RF-EMF on human sperm exposed in vitro; 3) studies evaluating the impact of RF-EMF on adverse pregnancy, birth outcomes and delayed effects in experimental mammals exposed in utero. STUDY ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA: Eligible studies will include peer-reviewed articles reporting of original results about effects of controlled exposures to RF-EMF in the frequency range 100 kHz-300 GHz on the selected outcomes without any language or year-of-publication restrictions. Eligible studies will be retrieved by calibrated search strings applied to three electronic databases, PubMed, Scopus and EMF Portal and by manual search of the list of references of included papers and published reviews. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHOD: The internal validity of the studies will be evaluated using the Risk of Bias (RoB) Rating Tool developed by National Toxicology Program/Office of Health Assessment and Translation (NTP/OHAT) integrated with input from the SYRCLE RoB tool. Given sufficient commensurate data, meta-analyses will be performed, otherwise narrative syntheses will be produced. Finally, the certainty of the effects of RF-EMF exposure on male fertility and pregnancy and birth outcomes will be established following GRADE. FUNDING: The study is financially supported by the World Health Organization. REGISTRATION: OSF Registration DOI doi.org; PROSPERO CRD42021227729, CRD42021227746.

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 typesystematic_review

Effect directionunclear

PopulationNon-human mammals (experimental) and human sperm exposed in vitro

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 86% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Male fertility / male reproductive system outcomes in experimental mammals
Human sperm outcomes in vitro
Adverse pregnancy outcomes in experimental mammals exposed in utero
Birth outcomes in experimental mammals exposed in utero
Delayed effects in experimental mammals exposed in utero

Limitations

Protocol paper; no study results reported
Specific exposure sources, levels (e.g., SAR), and durations are not provided in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "systematic_review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Non-human mammals (experimental) and human sperm exposed in vitro",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Male fertility / male reproductive system outcomes in experimental mammals",
    "Human sperm outcomes in vitro",
    "Adverse pregnancy outcomes in experimental mammals exposed in utero",
    "Birth outcomes in experimental mammals exposed in utero",
    "Delayed effects in experimental mammals exposed in utero"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This article describes protocols for a systematic review of experimental studies assessing effects of controlled RF-EMF exposures (100 kHz–300 GHz) on male fertility and pregnancy/birth outcomes. No results are reported in the abstract.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Protocol paper; no study results reported",
    "Specific exposure sources, levels (e.g., SAR), and durations are not provided in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.86,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "radiofrequency",
    "male fertility",
    "male reproductive system",
    "human sperm",
    "in vitro",
    "pregnancy outcomes",
    "birth outcomes",
    "experimental mammals",
    "systematic review protocol",
    "risk of bias",
    "GRADE",
    "WHO funding"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.62,
      "reason": "The systematic review protocol is financially supported by the World Health Organization (WHO)."
    }
  ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

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: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106806
PubMed: 34454359

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library