4 ms·

From the abstract of the latest meta-analysis the author published: "In a meta-analysis of 46 case-control studies, compared with never or rarely having used a

From the abstract of the latest meta-analysis the author published: "In a meta-analysis of 46 case-control studies, compared with never or rarely having used a cellular phone, regular use was not associated with tumor risk in the random-effects meta-analysis. However, in the subgroup meta-analysis by research group, there was a statistically significant positive association (harmful effect) in the Hardell et al. studies (OR, 1.15—95% CI, 1.00 to 1.33— n = 10), a statistically significant negative association (beneficial effect) in the INTERPHONE-related studies (case-control studies from 13 countries coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC); (OR, 0.81—95% CI, 0.75 to 0.89—n = 9), and no statistically significant association in other research groups’ studies. Further, cellular phone use with cumulative call time more than 1000 h statistically significantly increased the risk of tumors." I'm far from an expert in the statistical interpretation of such statements, but to me, these results look all over the place. Furthermore, it seems that ALL the studies in the meta-analysis that found harmful effects originated from teams led by the same researcher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennart_Hardell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennart_Hardell), which, to be sure, is an interesting insight, but not one that should necessarily strengthen the belief in the hypothesis.

adamredwoods 3y ago
>> meta-analysis of 46 case-control studies A meta-analysis draws data from other studies. It does not (and should never) support conclusive evidence. There was another "claim" regarding PPI and dementia possible link [1] which was a meta-study as well. At least their sample (N > 5000) was large enough to cause interest, but as I like to mention, correlation does not infer causation. [1] https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/08/09/WNL.0000000000207747 https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/08/09/WNL.0000000...
brookst 3y ago
It's not just Hardell. It's also Martin Pall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Pall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Pall), though that Wikipedia page does not do him justice. Any time you see "EMF interferes with calcium channels", that's Pall. The linked article avoids naming him by using the Trump-esque "lots of people are saying" phrasing regarding calcium channels. Pall has written numerous "research" papers about how smart electric meters, cell phones (especially 5g), and Wifi will lead to the imminent extinction of the human race[0]. His 2018 paper[1] found that "oxidative stress, sperm/testicular damage, neuropsychiatric effects including changes in the encephalogram (EEG), apoptosis, cellular DNA damage, endocrine changes, and calcium overload are established effects of WiFi exposure". Which sounds pretty bad! However, as a meta study noted[2] in referencing that 2018 paper, "this review was heavily criticized for selective reporting, for ignoring the quality of the studies, for ignoring the level of exposure, for including studies that did not apply WiFi signals, and for inadequate description of the study results" That's typical; every time Pall publishes, the journal is flooded with rebuttals from misquoted sources and readers who note things like (regarding Pall's claims that 5G causes mass sterilization): "In the case of the effects on sperm and infertility, effects should exclusively be included in humans (or human cells), but of the 8 articles cited in this section, only 1 was in humans (Yildirim et al., 2015) based on anonymous questionnaires. It is not an adequate study to conclude any possible effect of exposure to Wi-Fi in humans since no other variables were controlled (food, air pollution, antecedents, previous pathologies ...). Even, the sample was obtained from an infertility clinic and there was no control group and the authors claim that no differences were found."[3] Pall's game is a long con -- he's been at it so long that he can cite his own body of work as "massive literature, providing a high level of scientific certainty, for each of eight pathophysiological effects caused by non-thermal microwave frequency EMF exposures"[4] Not coincidentally, Pall runs the non-profit 5G Free Oregon[5], where you are invited to contribute funds to combat the scourge of EMF that is always just on the verge of causing total societal collapse. 0. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/26/how-baseless-fears-over-5g-rollout-created-a-health-scare https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/26/how-basel... 1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118300355?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393511... 2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/10643389.2021.1951549?needAccess=true&role=button https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/10643389.2021.1... 3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118303979 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393511... 4. https://www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/consultation_upload/Respondent94 https://www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/consultation_upload/Respon... 5. https://5gfreeoregon.org/ https://5gfreeoregon.org/

adamredwoods 3y ago

>> meta-analysis of 46 case-control studies A meta-analysis draws data from other studies. It does not (and should never) support conclusive evidence. There was another "claim" regarding PPI and dementia possible link [1] which was a meta-study as well. At least their sample (N > 5000) was large enough to cause interest, but as I like to mention, correlation does not infer causation. [1] https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/08/09/WNL.0000000000207747 https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/08/09/WNL.0000000...

brookst 3y ago

It's not just Hardell. It's also Martin Pall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Pall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Pall), though that Wikipedia page does not do him justice. Any time you see "EMF interferes with calcium channels", that's Pall. The linked article avoids naming him by using the Trump-esque "lots of people are saying" phrasing regarding calcium channels. Pall has written numerous "research" papers about how smart electric meters, cell phones (especially 5g), and Wifi will lead to the imminent extinction of the human race[0]. His 2018 paper[1] found that "oxidative stress, sperm/testicular damage, neuropsychiatric effects including changes in the encephalogram (EEG), apoptosis, cellular DNA damage, endocrine changes, and calcium overload are established effects of WiFi exposure". Which sounds pretty bad! However, as a meta study noted[2] in referencing that 2018 paper, "this review was heavily criticized for selective reporting, for ignoring the quality of the studies, for ignoring the level of exposure, for including studies that did not apply WiFi signals, and for inadequate description of the study results" That's typical; every time Pall publishes, the journal is flooded with rebuttals from misquoted sources and readers who note things like (regarding Pall's claims that 5G causes mass sterilization): "In the case of the effects on sperm and infertility, effects should exclusively be included in humans (or human cells), but of the 8 articles cited in this section, only 1 was in humans (Yildirim et al., 2015) based on anonymous questionnaires. It is not an adequate study to conclude any possible effect of exposure to Wi-Fi in humans since no other variables were controlled (food, air pollution, antecedents, previous pathologies ...). Even, the sample was obtained from an infertility clinic and there was no control group and the authors claim that no differences were found."[3] Pall's game is a long con -- he's been at it so long that he can cite his own body of work as "massive literature, providing a high level of scientific certainty, for each of eight pathophysiological effects caused by non-thermal microwave frequency EMF exposures"[4] Not coincidentally, Pall runs the non-profit 5G Free Oregon[5], where you are invited to contribute funds to combat the scourge of EMF that is always just on the verge of causing total societal collapse. 0. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/26/how-baseless-fears-over-5g-rollout-created-a-health-scare https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/26/how-basel... 1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118300355?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393511... 2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/10643389.2021.1951549?needAccess=true&role=button https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/10643389.2021.1... 3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118303979 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393511... 4. https://www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/consultation_upload/Respondent94 https://www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/consultation_upload/Respon... 5. https://5gfreeoregon.org/ https://5gfreeoregon.org/