No effects of short‐term exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic fields on human cognitive performance: A meta‐analysis

During recent years, a large number of studies on the effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by cellular mobile phones on human cognitive performance have been carried out. However, the results have been ambiguous. We carried out the current meta‐analysis in order to investigate the impact of electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones on human cognition. Seventeen studies were included in the meta‐analysis as they fulfill several requirements such as single‐ or double‐blind experimental study design, and documentation of means and standard deviations of dependent variables. The meta‐analysis was carried out as a group comparison between exposed and non‐exposed subjects. No significant effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phones were found. Cognitive abilities seem to be neither impaired nor facilitated. Results of the meta‐analysis suggest that a substantial short‐term impact of high frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones on cognitive performance can essentially be ruled out. Bioelectromagnetics 33:159–165, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.