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Brain & Nervous System

Cognitive function and symptoms in adults and adolescents in relation to rf radiation from UMTS base stations

No Effects Found

Riddervold IS, Pedersen GF, Andersen NT, Pedersen AD, Andersen JB, Zachariae R, Mølhave L, Sigsgaard T, Kjaergaard SK. · 2008

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The study found no significant effect of UMTS base station radiation on cognitive performance.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Forty adolescents and 40 adults were exposed to UMTS base station signals and sham conditions in a randomized, double-blinded cross-over design. Each exposure lasted 45 minutes while participants performed cognitive tasks and reported symptoms. No statistically significant differences were found between UMTS and sham conditions for the main cognitive test. An increase in headache rating was observed when combining both age groups, though this may reflect baseline differences.

Why This Matters

The estimated performance difference for adults was -3.2% with a confidence interval of -9.2% to 2.9%, while for adolescents it was 5.5% with an interval of -1.1% to 12.2%. The researchers concluded that the primary hypothesis of reduced cognitive performance was not confirmed but recommended further research on subjective symptoms.

Exposure Details

Power Density
2.6 mW/cm²
Electric Field
2.2,1.5,0.9 V/m
Source/Device
2,140 MHz
Exposure Duration
45 min

Exposure Context

This study used 2.6 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

This study used 2.2,1.5,0.9 V/m for electric fields:

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 2.6 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 3 times the FCC limit
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 2.14 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 2.14 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

This study was designed to investigate the acute effects of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) mobile phone base stations on human cognitive function and symptoms.

Forty adolescents (15–16 years) and 40 adults (25–40 years) were exposed to four conditions: (1) sha...

No statistically significant differences between the UMTS and sham conditions were found for perform...

In conclusion, the primary hypothesis that UMTS radiation reduces general performance in the TMB test was not confirmed. However, we suggest that the hypothesis of subjective symptoms and EMF exposure needs further research.

Cite This Study
Riddervold IS, Pedersen GF, Andersen NT, Pedersen AD, Andersen JB, Zachariae R, Mølhave L, Sigsgaard T, Kjaergaard SK. (2008). Cognitive function and symptoms in adults and adolescents in relation to rf radiation from UMTS base stations Bioelectromagnetics. 29(4):257-267, 2008.
Show BibTeX
@article{is_2008_cognitive_function_and_symptoms_2800,
  author = {Riddervold IS and Pedersen GF and Andersen NT and Pedersen AD and Andersen JB and Zachariae R and Mølhave L and Sigsgaard T and Kjaergaard SK.},
  title = {Cognitive function and symptoms in adults and adolescents in relation to rf radiation from UMTS base stations},
  year = {2008},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.20388},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.20388},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.20388

Cited By (55 papers)

View all 55 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Forty adolescents and 40 adults were exposed to four conditions including sham and UMTS signals in a randomized, double-blinded cross-over design with 45-minute exposures.
The Trail Making B test was the main cognitive outcome measure.
No statistically significant differences were found between UMTS and sham conditions for the Trail Making B test or any other cognitive tasks.
An increase in headache rating was observed when combining data from both age groups, though the authors noted this may be due to baseline differences.
The primary hypothesis that UMTS radiation reduces cognitive performance was not confirmed, but the researchers suggested further research on subjective symptoms and EMF exposure.