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Reproductive Health

Paternal occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and risk of adverse pregnancy outcome.

No Effects Found

Mjøen G, Saetre DO, Lie RT, Tynes T, Blaasaas KG, Hannevik M, Irgens LM · 2006

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Fathers with high occupational RF exposure showed 8% higher preterm birth risk but lower rates of some birth defects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Norwegian researchers studied whether fathers exposed to radiofrequency radiation at work had children with more birth defects or pregnancy complications. They analyzed data from over 100,000 births and found mixed results: fathers with the highest occupational RF exposure had an 8% increased risk of preterm birth, but actually lower rates of some birth defects like cleft lip. The researchers concluded the findings were "partly reassuring" for exposed fathers.

Study Details

Our objective was to assess associations between paternal occupational exposure to RFR and adverse pregnancy outcomes including birth defects using population-based data from Norway.

Data on reproductive outcomes derived from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway were linked with dat...

In the offspring of fathers most likely to have been exposed, increased risk was observed for preter...

The study is partly reassuring for occupationally exposed fathers.

Cite This Study
Mjøen G, Saetre DO, Lie RT, Tynes T, Blaasaas KG, Hannevik M, Irgens LM (2006). Paternal occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and risk of adverse pregnancy outcome. Eur J Epidemiol. 21(7):529-535, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{g_2006_paternal_occupational_exposure_to_3251,
  author = {Mjøen G and Saetre DO and Lie RT and Tynes T and Blaasaas KG and Hannevik M and Irgens LM},
  title = {Paternal occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and risk of adverse pregnancy outcome.},
  year = {2006},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16858619/},
}
PubMed: 16858619

Cited By (37 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A Norwegian study of over 100,000 births found mixed results for fathers exposed to radiofrequency radiation at work. High exposure increased preterm birth risk by 8%, but actually reduced some birth defects like cleft lip. The findings were considered partly reassuring overall.
Research shows fathers with high occupational RF exposure had lower rates of cleft lip in their children, not higher. However, they had an 8% increased risk of preterm birth. The study found no consistent pattern of increased birth defects from paternal RF exposure.
A large Norwegian study found that fathers with workplace RF exposure had mixed pregnancy outcomes. While preterm birth risk increased slightly (8%), some birth defects actually decreased. The researchers concluded the findings were partly reassuring for exposed fathers.
Fathers with the highest occupational radiofrequency exposure had an 8% increased risk of preterm birth according to Norwegian research. This translates to an odds ratio of 1.08, representing a small but statistically significant increase in risk.
A study of 100,000+ births found fathers with high EMF workplace exposure had mixed effects on their children. Preterm birth risk increased 8%, but cleft lip rates actually decreased. Most birth defect categories showed no significant changes.