Rodrigues, N.C.P.; Dode, A.C.; Andrade, M.K.D.N.; O’Dwyer, G.; Monteiro, D.L.M.; Reis, I.N.C.; Rodrigues, R.P.; Frossard, V.C.; Lino, V.T.S. The Effect of Continuous Low Intensity Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Radio Base Stations to Cancer Mortality in Brazil. Preprints 2020, 2020120381
(doi: 10.20944/preprints202012.0381.v1).
This version is not peer-reviewed.
An ecological study.
Abstract
Background This study aims to estimate the rate of death by cancer, according to Radio Base Stations (RBS) radiofrequency exposure, especially for the types of breast, cervix, lung and esophagus cancer.
Methods We collected information about the number of deaths by cancer, gender, age group, Gross Domestic Product per capita, death year and the amount of exposure over the lifetime. We investigated all cancer types and some specific types (breast, cervix, lung and esophagus cancers).
Results In capitals where RBS radiofrequency exposure was higher than 2,000/antennas-year, the average mortality rate was 112/100,000 for all cancers. The adjusted analysis showed that the higher the exposure to RBS radiofrequency, the higher cancer mortality. The highest adjusted risk was observed for cervix cancer (Rate Ratio = 2.18). The spatial analysis showed that the highest RBS radiofrequency exposure was observed in a city in southern Brazil, which also showed the highest mortality rate for all types of cancer and specifically for lung and breast cancer.
Conclusion The balance of our results indicates that the exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from RBS increases the rate of death by all types of cancer.
PDF Conclusion, according to the athors:
The balance of our results indicates that the exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from RBS increases the rate of mortality by all cancers and specifically by breast, cervix, lung and esophageal cancers. These conclusions are based on the fact that the findings of this study indicate that the higher RBS radiofrequency exposure, the higher cancer mortality rate, especially for cervix cancer (Adjust RR = 2.18). The spatial analysis showed that the highest RBS radiofrequency exposure was observed in a city located southern of Brazil, which also showed the highest mortality rate for all types of cancer and specifically for lung and breast cancer.
Environmental pollution caused by non-ionizing electromagnetic fields increases continuously. The location of RBS is still a controversial field as regards their regulation. There are numerous RBS installed in residential areas, including on their roofs. Some epidemiological studies indicate an increased risk of cancer close to RBS. It is important that further epidemiological investigations are conducted to elucidate the role of the environment towards radiofrequency signals on carcinogenesis process.
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Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Snippet:
In the present study, a capital located in the South showed the highest RBS radiofrequency exposure and the highest mortality by cancer (Florianópolis). In fact, others studies have also reported high rates of cancer in this capital 21-25