Effects of Electromagnetic Field Pollution on Human Health: Current Evidence

Özlem Çoşkun; Emine Canan Günay Demirel

doi:10.17776/csj.1736980

Effects of Electromagnetic Field Pollution on Human Health: Current Evidence

Abstract

The rapid expansion of technologies emitting electromagnetic fields (EMFs), including mobile communication systems, wireless networks, household electronics, and industrial equipment, has markedly increased human exposure to artificial EMFs. This review aims to provide an updated synthesis of current scientific evidence regarding the potential health effects of electromagnetic field pollution. While the thermal effects of high-intensity EMFs are well established, growing attention has focused on non-thermal biological interactions within the extremely low frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) ranges. Reported effects include oxidative stress, alterations in cellular signaling pathways, gene expression changes, sleep disturbances, and possible links to cancer and reproductive dysfunction. However, study findings remain heterogeneous due to differences in exposure parameters, experimental designs, and study populations. This review critically examines epidemiological, in vivo, and in vitro research to identify areas of consensus, knowledge gaps, and emerging mechanisms of action. Improving the understanding of EMF-related biological effects is crucial for informed risk assessment and the development of evidence-based public health guidelines. Given the ubiquity of EMF-emitting technologies, clarifying their long-term health implications is essential to ensure adequate protection of public health and to guide future research directions.

Keywords

References

[1] 1.AMF T., Ghvedashvili G., Sources of the Electromagnetic Pollution, Effects, Safety Measures, Junior Researchers, 2 (2024) 67-77.
[2] Torkaman FMT., Momeni, F., Positive and negative effects of electricity on human health. Journal of Biological Studies, 6 (2023) 193-203.
[3] Sookman C., Health Risks of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR), (2025).
[4] Cordelli E., Ardoino L., Benassi B., Consales C., Eleuteri P., Marino C., Pacchierotti F., Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) exposure on pregnancy and birth outcomes: A systematic review of experimental studies on non-human mammals, Environment International, 180 (2023) 108178.
[5] Van Bladel J.G., Electromagnetic fields, John Wiley & Sons, (2007)
[6] Adorno TC., Gitman, D.M., Shabad, A.E., Electric charge is a magnetic dipole when placed in a background magnetic field, Physical Review D, 89 (2014) 047504.
[7] Shoji E., New Insights into Radio Wave Energy Harvesting across Wide Geographical Ranges Harnessing Medium‐Wave Radio Broadcasting Infrastructure, Energy Technology, 12 (2024) 2300604.
[8] Verhoeven G., The reflection of two fields–Electromagnetic radiation and its role in (aerial) imaging, AARG news, 55 (2017) 10-18.

[9] Heald M.A., Marion J.B., Classical electromagnetic radiation, Courier Corporation, (2012).
[10] İkinci A., 900 megahertz elektromanyetik alanın adolesan erkek sıçanların hipokampus morfolojisi ve öğrenme davranışı üzerine etkisi, Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Doktora tezi, (2015).
[11] Hirata A., Diao Y., Onishi T., Sasaki K., Ahn S., Colombi D., Chen J., Assessment of human exposure to electromagnetic fields: Review and future directions, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, 63 (2021) 1619-1630.
[12] Ghazanfarpour M., Kashani Z.A., Pakzad R., Abdi F., RahnAMFei F.A., Akbari P.A., Roozbeh N., Effect of electromagnetic field on abortion: A systAMFtic review and meta-analysis, Open Medicine, 16 (2021)1628-1641.
[13] Gonoskov A., Blackburn T.G., Marklund M., Bulanov, S.S., Charged particle motion and radiation in strong electromagnetic fields, Reviews of Modern Physics, 94 (2022) 045001.
[14] Secades C., O'Connor B., Brown C., Walpole M., Skidmore A.K., Wang T., Niamir A., Review of the use of remotely-sensed data for monitoring biodiversity change and tracking progress towards the Aichi, Biodiversity Targets, (2013).
[15] Martel J., Chang S.H., Chevalier G., Ojcius D.M., Young, J.D., Influence of electromagnetic fields on the circadian rhythm: Implications for human health and disease, Biomedical Journal, 46 (2023) 48-59.
[16] Habash R.W. Electromagnetic fields and radiation: human bioeffects and safety, CRC Press, (2018).
[17] Kaszuba-Zwoińska J., Gremba J., Gałdzińska-Calik B., Wójcik-Piotrowicz K., Thor P., Electromagnetic field induced biological effects in humans, Przegl Lek, 72 (2015) 636-41.
[18] Narayanan S.N., Jetti R., Kesari K.K., Kumar R.S., Nayak S.B., Bhat P.G., Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation-induced behavioral changes and their possible basis, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26 (2019) 30693-30710.
[19] Jayaraju N., Kumar M.P., Sreenivasulu G., Prasad T.L., Lakshmanna B., Nagalaksmi K., Madakka M., Mobile phone and base stations radiation and its effects on human health and environment: A review, Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 2 (2023) 100031.
[20] Adair R.K., Static and low-frequency magnetic field effects: health risks and therapies, Reports on progress in Physics, 63 (2000) 415.
[21] Hardell L., Sage, C., Biological effects from electromagnetic field exposure and public exposure standards, Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy, 62 (2008) 104-109.
[22] Wertheimer N., Leeper E.D. Electrical wiring configurations and childhood cancer, American journal of epidemiology, 109 (1979) 273-284.
[23] Martel J., Rouleau N., Murugan N.J., Chin W.C., Ojcius D.M., Young, J.D., Effects of light, electromagnetic fields and water on biological rhythms, Biomedical Journal, (2024) 100824.
[24] Yilmaz D.A., Çağiran İ.H., Dege G., Yildirim M.S., Effects of Electromagnetic Pollution on Health, MAUN Sag Bil. Derg, 2 (2022), 67-79.
[25] Guizani M., Electromagnetic Radiation Due to Cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Technologies: How Safe Are We?, IEEE, 8 (2020) 42980-43000.
[26] Tokpınar A., Altuntaş E., Değermenci M., Yılmaz H., Bas, O., The impact of electromagnetic fields on human health: A review, Middle Black Sea Journal of Health Science, 10 (2024) 229-238.
[27] Lambrozo J., Electric and magnetic fields with a frequency of 50–60 hz: Assessment of 20 years of research, Indoor and Built Environment, 10 (2001) 299-305.
[28] Faye S., Camino R., Rziga G., Sarvari P.A., Al-Naffakh N., Estrada-Jiménez J.C., Khadraoui D., A survey on EMF-aware mobile network planning, IEEE Access, 11 (2023) 85927-85950.
[29] Juutilainen J., Lagroye I., Miyakoshi J., van Rongen E., Saunders R., de Seze R., Xu, Z., Exposure to high frequency electromagnetic fields, biological effects and health consequences (100 kHz 300 GHz), In Review of experimental studies of RF biological effects (100 kHz 300 GHz), (2009) 94-319.
[30] Black D.R., Heynick L.N., Radiofrequency (RF) effects on blood cells, cardiac, endocrine, and immunological functions, Bioelectromagnetics, 24 (2003) S187-S195.
[31] Nzao A.B.S., Analysis, Sources and Study of the Biological Consequences of Electromagnetic Pollution, Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 12 (2022) 2096-2123.
[32] Torregrossa M.V., Biological and health effects on electric and magnetic fields at extremely low frequencies Annali di Igiene: Medicina Preventiva e di Comunita, 17 (2005) 441-453.
[33] Bortkiewicz A., Health effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF), Industrial health, 57 (2019) 403-405.
[34] Şahin C.U., Exposure to electromagnetic field, cell phone use behaviors, SAR values, and changes in health following exposure in adolescent university students, Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 79 (2021) 139-148.
[35] Kashani Z.A., Pakzad R., Fakari F.R., Haghparast M.S., Abdi F., Kiani Z., Haghgoo S.M., Electromagnetic fields exposure on fetal and childhood abnormalities: SystAMFtic review and meta-analysis, Open Medicine, 18 (2023).
[36] Kıvrak E.G., Yurt K.K., Kaplan A.A., Alkan I., Altun G., Effects of electromagnetic fields exposure on the antioxidant defense system, Journal of microscopy and ultrastructure, 5 (2017) 167-176.
[37] Hart D.A., The Influence of Magnetic Fields, Including the Planetary Magnetic Field, on Complex Life Forms: How Do Biological Systems Function in This Field and in Electromagnetic Fields?, Biophysica, 4 (2024) 1-21.
[38] Saunders T., Health hazards and electromagnetic fields, Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery, 9 (2003) 191-197.
[39] Asghari A., Khaki A.A., Rajabzadeh A., Khaki A.A., review on Electromagnetic fields (AMFs) and the reproductive system, Electronic physician, 8 (2016) 2655.
[40] Macri M.A., di Luzio Sr., Di Luzio S., Biological effects of electromagnetic fields, International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology, 15 (2002) 95-105.
[41] Bortkiewicz A., Health effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF), Industrial health, 57 (2019) 403-405.
[42] Ebrahim S., Azab, A. E., Albasha, M. O., Albishti, N., The biological effects of electromagnetic fields on human and experimental animals, Inter Res J Natur Appl Sci, 3 (2016) 106-121.
[43] Panagopoulos D.J., Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communications: Biological and Health Effects, CRC Press, (2022).
[44] Açıkgöz Ş., Effects of experimental low dose electromagnetic field on rat testis and semen tissues and investigation of antioxidant role of caffeic acid phenethyl ester, (2019). Uzmanlık Tezi.
[45] Karbalay-Doust S., Darabyan M., Sisakht M., Haddadi G., Sotoudeh N., Haghani M., Mortazavi S.M.J., Extremely low frequency-electromagnetic fields (ELF-AMF) can decrease spermatocyte count and motility and change testicular tissue, Journal of Biomedical Physics & Engineering, 13 (2023) 135.
[46] Nisbet H.O., Nisbet C., Akar A., Cevik M., Karayigit M.O., Effects of exposure to electromagnetic field (1.8/0.9 GHz) on testicular function and structure in growing rats, Research in veterinary science, 93 (2012) 1001-1005.
[47] Sahu M., Behera S. Chattopadhyay B., The influence of electromagnetic field pollution on human health: A systAMFtic review, Siriraj Medical Journal, 73 (2021) 485-492.
[48] Kaya F., Nacar M.C., Tutar Çölgeçen E.F., The Effect of Electromagnetic Field Exposure on Fetal Development Elektromanyetik Alan Maruziyetinin Fetal Gelişime Etkisi, Journal of General Medicine, (2024) 34. [49] Lin J.C., Electromagnetic fields in biological systems, CRC Press, Taylor  Francis (2012) 458.
[50] Romanenko S., Begley R., Harvey A.R., Hool L., Wallace V.P., The interaction between electromagnetic fields at megahertz, gigahertz and terahertz frequencies with cells, tissues and organisms: risks and potential, Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 14 (2017) 20170585.
[51] Pophof B., Henschenmacher B., Kattnig D. R., Kuhne J., Vian A., Ziegelberger G., Biological effects of electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields from 0 to 100 MHz on fauna and flora: Workshop report, Health Physics, 124 (2023) 39-52.
[52] Irani M., Aradmehr M., Ghorbani M., Baghani R., Electromagnetic field exposure and abortion in pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis, The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: MJMS, 30 (2023) 70-80.
[53] Johnson E.E., Kenny R.P., Adesanya A. M., Richmond C., Beyer F., Calderon C., Pearson F., The effects of radiofrequency exposure on adverse female reproductive outcomes: a systematic review of human observational studies with dose–response meta-analysis, Environment International, 190 (2024). 108816.
[54] Zhou F., Ma C., Li Y. J., Zhang M., Liu W., Effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic radiation on pregnancy outcome: A meta-analysis, African Journal of Reproductive Health, 27 (2023) 95-104.
[55] Karimi A., Ghadiri Moghaddam F., Valipour M., Insights in the biology of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields exposure on human health, Molecular biology reports, 47 (2020) 5621-5633.
[56] Sert C., Başak N., Koruk İ., Electric and magnetic field pollution in near substations and investigation of anxiety and depressive effects on adult individuals living in this area, Electromagnetic, Biology and Medicine, 43 (2024) 145-155.
[57] Hosseini E., Ubiquitous extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields induces anxiety-like behavior: mechanistic perspectives, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 43 (2024) 220-235.
[58] Piszczek P., Wójcik-Piotrowicz K., Gil K., Kaszuba-Zwoińska J., Immunity and electromagnetic fields, Environmental Research, 200 (2021) 111505.
[59] Schuermann D., Mevissen, M., Manmade electromagnetic fields and oxidative stress—biological effects and consequences for health, International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 22 (2021) 3772.
[60] Ongel K., Gumral N., Ozguner F., The potential effects of electromagnetic oxidative stress—biological effects and consequences for health. International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 22 (2021) 772.
[61] Consales C., Merla C., Marino C., Benassi B., Electromagnetic fields, oxidative stress, and neurodegeneration, International journal of cell biology, 2012 (2012) 683897.
[62] Kim J.H., Lee J.K., Kim H.G., Kim K.B., Kim, H.R., Possible effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on central nerve system, Biomolecules & therapeutics, 27 (2018) 265.
[63] Wilson C., Muñoz-Palma E., González-Billault C., From birth to death: A role for reactive oxygen species in neuronal development, In Seminars in cell & developmental biology, 80 (2018) 43-49.
[64] Carpenter D.O., Possible effects of electromagnetic fields on the nervous system and development, Mental retardation and developmental disabilities research reviews, 3 (1997) 270-274.
[65] Emerit J., Edeas M., Bricaire F., Neurodegenerative diseases and oxidative stress, Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy, 58 (2004) 39-46.
[66] Fouladi Dehaghi B., Vahabi Shekarloo M., Golbaghi A., Ibrahimi Ghavamabadi L., The Impact of Electromagnetic Field Exposure on Diabetes: A Narrative Review, Journal of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development, 9 (2024) 2390-2404.
[67] Xinyi S., Treating diabetes with electromagnetic fields, Science Translational Medicine, 12 (2020) eabe9220.
[68] Martel J., Rouleau N., Murugan N.J., Chin W.C., Ojcius, D.M., Young, J.D., Effects of light, electromagnetic fields and water on biological rhythms, Biomedical Journal, 48 (2025) 100824.
[69] Contalbrigo L., Stelletta C., Falcioni L., Casella S., Piccione G., Soffritti M., Morgante M., Effects of different electromagnetic fields on circadian rhythms of some haAMFtochemical parameters in rats, Biomedical and environmental sciences, 22 (2009) 348-353.
[70] Lewczuk B., Redlarski G., Żak A., Ziółkowska N., Przybylska-Gornowicz B., Krawczuk, M., Influence of electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields on the circadian system: current stage of knowledge, BioMed research international, 2014 (2014) 169459.
[71] Sengier G., Barr A., Raimbault C.A., Electromagnetic Fields, In Emerging Risks, Routledge, (2016).
[72] Maffei M.E., Magnetic fields and cancer: epidemiology, cellular biology, and theranostics, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23 (2022) 1339.
[73] Kapri-Pardes E., Hanoch T., Maik-Rachline G., Murbach M., Bounds P.L., Kuster N., Seger R., Activation of signaling cascades by weak extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields, Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, 43 (2017) 533-1546.
[74] Khurana V.G., Hardell L., Everaert J., Bortkiewicz A., Carlberg M., Ahonen M., Epidemiological evidence for a health risk from mobile phone base stations, International journal of occupational and environmental health, 16 (2010) 263-267.
[75] Miller A.B., Morgan L.L., Udasin I., Davis D.L., Cancer epidemiology update, following the 2011 IARC evaluation of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (Monograph 102), Environmental research, 167 (2018) 673-683.
[76] Yılmaz D.A., Çağıran İ.H., Dege G., Yıldız M., Yıldırım M.S. Elektromanyetik Kirliliğin Sağlığa Etkileri, Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 2 (2022) 67-79.
[77] Sun J., Tong Y., Jia Y., Jia X., Wang H., Chen Y., Yang G., Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on the tumor cell inhibition and the possible mechanism, Scientific Reports, 13 (2023) 6989.
[78] Parizek D., Visnovcova N., Sladicekova K.H., Misek J., Jakus J., Jakusova J., Tonhajzerova I., Electromagnetic fields-do they pose a cardiovascular risk? Physiological research, 72 (2023) 199.
[79] Subhan F., Khan A., Ahmed S., Malik M.N., Bakshah S.T., Tahir S., Mobile antenna's and its impact on human health, Journal of Medical Imaging and Health Informatics, 8 (2018) 1266-1273.
[80] Balmori A., Evidence for a health risk by RF on humans living around mobile phone base stations: From radiofrequency sickness to cancer, Environmental Research, 214 (2022) 113851.
[81] Yousif M.E., The electromagnetic radiation mechanism, International Journal of Fundamental Physical Sciences, 4 (2014) 72-79.
[82] Gherardini L., Ciuti G., Tognarelli S., Cinti C., Searching for the perfect wave: the effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on cells, International journal of molecular sciences, 15 (2014) 5366-5387.
[83] Duhaini, I., The effects of electromagnetic fields on human health. Physica Medica, 32 (2016) 213.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Biochemistry and Cell Biology (Other) , Classical Physics (Other)

Journal Section

Review

Authors

Özlem Çoşkun
0009-0003-1544-1440
Türkiye

Emine Canan Günay Demirel ^*
0000-0003-2968-9780
Türkiye

Publication Date

September 30, 2025

Submission Date

July 8, 2025

Acceptance Date

September 15, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 46 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.17776/csj.1736980

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA97GW65TE

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Çoşkun, Ö., & Günay Demirel, E. C. (2025). Effects of Electromagnetic Field Pollution on Human Health: Current Evidence. Cumhuriyet Science Journal, 46(3), 424-434. https://doi.org/10.17776/csj.1736980