Browse 8,655 peer-reviewed studies on electromagnetic field health effects from 4 research libraries.
Showing 666 studies (Human Studies) from Powerwatch EMF Bibliography
Unknown authors · 2006
Swedish researchers studied people who report electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) and found measurable cellular changes in their skin tissue compared to healthy controls. The study examined 230,000-290,000 Swedish citizens who experience symptoms when exposed to electromagnetic fields. Sweden officially recognizes EHS as a functional impairment, not a disease.
Unknown authors · 2006
This 2006 study examined how 'dirty electricity' (electrical pollution on power lines) affects health conditions like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Installing filters to reduce this electrical pollution improved symptoms in diabetics (better blood sugar control) and MS patients (improved balance and mobility). The research suggests a connection between increasing electromagnetic pollution and rising rates of chronic diseases.
Unknown authors · 2006
Swiss researchers surveyed over 2,000 people to understand how many experience electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) and worry about EMF health effects. They found 5% reported symptoms they attributed to EMF exposure, with sleep problems and headaches being most common, while 53% expressed concern about EMF health risks without experiencing symptoms themselves.
Unknown authors · 2006
This 2006 commentary examines whether combining multiple studies on childhood leukemia and power line magnetic fields produces more reliable results than individual studies alone. The authors discuss the validity and limitations of pooled analyses that attempt to determine if residential magnetic field exposure increases childhood leukemia risk.
Unknown authors · 2006
Swiss researchers studied 54 people before and after a powerful radio transmitter was shut down, measuring sleep quality and melatonin levels. They found that stronger magnetic fields from the transmitter correlated with worse sleep and lower melatonin production, with improvements occurring after shutdown. This unique natural experiment provides compelling evidence that radio frequency emissions can disrupt human sleep patterns and hormone cycles.
Unknown authors · 2006
Researchers studied 780 Egyptian children aged 0-12 years, comparing those living within 50 meters of high-voltage power lines to a control group. Children exposed to power line EMF showed significantly reduced height, head circumference, and chest circumference at all ages, plus delayed bone development. This suggests chronic exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields may impair normal childhood growth and development.
Unknown authors · 2006
Researchers studied 60 women exposed to magnetic fields at work and found that those exposed to both workplace magnetic fields and nighttime light had the lowest levels of melatonin (measured through urine). The combination of daytime magnetic field exposure and nighttime light exposure appears to suppress melatonin production more than either exposure alone.
Unknown authors · 2006
Japanese researchers studied 312 children with leukemia and 603 healthy controls, measuring magnetic field levels in their bedrooms from power lines and electrical sources. Children exposed to magnetic fields of 0.4 microTesla or higher showed 2.6 times higher risk of leukemia overall, and 4.7 times higher risk specifically for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This large study adds to growing evidence linking household magnetic field exposure to childhood cancer risk.
Unknown authors · 2006
UCLA researchers examined whether trends in electricity consumption and childhood leukemia rates could reveal a connection between power line EMFs and cancer. They found both EMF exposure and leukemia rates have increased over 25 years, but concluded this ecological approach provides no meaningful evidence for or against causation due to too many variables and assumptions.
Unknown authors · 2006
This 2006 analysis estimated how many childhood leukemia cases worldwide might be linked to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields from power lines and electrical devices. The researchers found that even if the suspected connection is real, ELF fields would account for less than 10% of childhood leukemia cases globally, translating to 100-2,400 potential cases per year worldwide.
Unknown authors · 2006
This 2006 study examined 'dirty electricity' - electromagnetic pollution created by modern electronics that flows through electrical wiring and radiates into living spaces. Researchers found that filtering this pollution improved symptoms in people with diabetes, multiple sclerosis, asthma, and ADHD. The findings suggest that electromagnetic pollution from everyday electrical devices may contribute to rising rates of chronic health conditions.
Hondou T et al et al. · 2006
Japanese researchers used supercomputer modeling to study how elevator walls reflect cell phone radiation, potentially increasing exposure to passengers. They found that while radiation levels can increase substantially due to reflections from metal walls, the maximum exposure still remained within international safety guidelines at 78% of the limit.
Unknown authors · 2006
This comprehensive study examined brain tumor risk in people using cellular phones and cordless phones across six different research projects. Researchers found increased risk for acoustic neuromas and malignant brain tumors, with the highest risk (nearly 3 times normal) from older analog cell phones. The risk increased with longer use, particularly after 10 years of regular phone use.
Takebayashi T et al. · 2006
Japanese researchers studied 101 people with acoustic neuromas (benign tumors on the nerve connecting the ear to the brain) and compared their mobile phone use to 339 healthy controls. They found no increased risk of developing these tumors among mobile phone users, even those who used phones for over 8 years or accumulated more than 900 hours of call time. The study suggests mobile phone use does not significantly increase acoustic neuroma risk in Japan.
Schüz J et al. · 2006
Danish researchers followed 420,095 cell phone subscribers for up to 21 years to see if mobile phone use increased cancer risk. They found no increased risk for brain tumors, acoustic neuromas, or other cancers typically associated with phone use, even among people who used phones for 10 years or more. This large-scale study suggests that cell phone use does not significantly increase cancer risk over the long term.
Schuz J et al. · 2006
German researchers studied 747 brain tumor patients and 1,494 healthy controls to see if sleeping near DECT cordless phone base stations increases brain tumor risk. They found no increased risk of glioma or meningioma brain tumors, with odds ratios of 0.82 and 0.83 respectively (values below 1.0 suggest slightly reduced risk). This provides initial evidence that low-level radiofrequency exposure from cordless phone base stations may not increase brain tumor risk.
Schuz J et al. · 2006
German researchers studied 747 brain tumor patients and 1,494 healthy controls to examine whether cell phone and cordless phone use increases the risk of glioma and meningioma (two types of brain tumors). While they found no overall increased risk from phone use, people who used cell phones for 10 or more years showed a 2.2-fold higher risk of glioma, though this finding wasn't statistically definitive. The results suggest potential long-term risks that require further investigation.
Lonn S et al. · 2006
Researchers in Denmark and Sweden studied whether long-term mobile phone use increases the risk of parotid gland tumors (tumors in the salivary glands near your ears). They compared 172 people with these tumors to 681 healthy controls, examining their mobile phone usage patterns over more than 10 years. The study found no increased risk of either malignant or benign parotid gland tumors associated with mobile phone use, even among long-term users.
Lantow M, Viergutz T, Weiss DG, Simko M. · 2006
German researchers exposed human immune cells (Mono Mac 6 cells) to cell phone radiation at 1,800 MHz for 12 hours to see if it would cause cell death or disrupt normal cell division cycles. They found no statistically significant effects on cell death, cell division, or DNA synthesis compared to unexposed control cells. This suggests that at the tested exposure level, cell phone-type radiation did not harm these particular immune cells in laboratory conditions.
Vrijheid M et al. · 2006
Researchers tracked actual mobile phone use in 672 volunteers across 11 countries using operator records and software-modified phones, then compared this to what people remembered six months later. The study found that people's memories were moderately accurate but contained significant errors - light users underestimated their phone use while heavy users overestimated it. This memory bias weakens the ability of cancer studies to detect real health risks from mobile phone radiation.
Papageorgiou CC et al. · 2006
Researchers exposed 19 healthy adults to 900 MHz mobile phone radiation while measuring their brain activity during a working memory test. The radiation significantly altered brain wave patterns called P50 components, which reflect how the brain processes information before conscious awareness. These changes suggest that mobile phone emissions can affect fundamental brain processing, even during brief exposures.
Oktay MF, Dasdag S · 2006
Researchers compared hearing function in three groups of men: heavy cell phone users (2 hours daily for 4 years), moderate users (10-20 minutes daily), and non-users. Heavy users showed measurably worse hearing thresholds at specific frequencies, particularly at 4000 Hz, while moderate users showed no difference from non-users. This suggests that intensive cell phone use may contribute to hearing loss over time.
Krause CM et al. · 2006
Finnish researchers studied how mobile phone radiation affects brain activity in 15 children (ages 10-14) while they performed memory tasks. When exposed to 902 MHz radiation from an active phone, the children showed measurable changes in their brain wave patterns during both memory encoding and recognition phases. This demonstrates that cell phone radiation can directly alter brain function in developing minds, even during short-term exposure.
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Hansson Mild K. · 2006
Swedish researchers analyzed data from over 3,400 people to examine whether cell phone and cordless phone use increases the risk of benign brain tumors. They found that analog cell phone users had nearly triple the risk of developing acoustic neuroma (a tumor affecting hearing), while digital phones and cordless phones showed more modest increases in risk. The risk was highest among people who had used analog phones for more than 15 years.
Hardell, L., Carlberg, M., Mild, K., 2005. · 2006
Swedish researchers studied 317 people with malignant brain tumors and compared their phone usage to 692 healthy controls. They found that people who used analog cell phones, digital cell phones, or cordless phones had roughly 2-3 times higher odds of developing brain tumors, with the risk increasing to 3-4 times higher for those who used phones for more than 10 years. The risk was strongest for high-grade astrocytoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer.