Exposure to Non-Ionizing Radiation and Childhood Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background: A slight increase in the childhood cancer trend has been observed for the past few decades. Non-ionizing radiation is one of the environmental factors linked to childhood cancers. This review is conducted to assess the association between non-ionizing radiation and childhood cancer based on all original studies to date. Methods: A systematic search was conducted on the titles and abstracts pertaining to non-ionizing radiation and childhood cancers using the PubMed, Scopus, SAGE and ScienceDirect databases from inception up to November ۲۰۱۸. Quality of each article was appraised using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager, and fixed effects were used to estimate the pooled OR of the selected studies. Results: A total of ۱۵ articles met all the selection criteria. Twelve articles were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled risk estimates of the ۱۲ studies, obtained via fixed effects model, showed that children exposed to ۰.۲ μT or more of EMF non-ionizing radiation run ۱.۳۳ times higher risks of contracting childhood cancer compared to those with less than ۰.۲ μT exposure (۹۵% CI: ۱.۱۰, ۱.۶۰). The studies were statistically homogeneous (chi-squared P=۰.۷۱, I۲=۰%), and there was no evidence of publication bias. Conclusion: It cannot be concluded that children exposed to non-ionizing radiation have higher risks of childhood cancer compared to those who were not exposed as claimed by the previous reviews. However, concerns about non-ionizing radiation exposure and childhood cancer should not be neglected.