Personal radio use and risk of cancers among police officers in Great Britain: Results from the airwave health monitoring study

Authors: Di Gravio C, Elliott P, Muller DC

Year: 2025 Nov 18

Category: Epidemiology

Journal: International Journal of Cancer

DOI: 10.1002/ijc.70255

URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.70255

Abstract

Overview

Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from mobile phones and other wireless devices has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans. This study used data from 48,457 police officers and staff enrolled in the Airwave Health Monitoring Study to investigate associations between personal radio use and cancer risk.

Study Design & Methods

  • Used Cox proportional hazard regressions to analyze cancer risk.
  • Personal radio use and duration were estimated by combining objective call duration data from the Home Office and self-reported data with gradient boosting methods.
  • Median follow-up: 11 years.

Findings

  • There were 1,502 incident cancer cases, including 146 cancers of the head, neck, and central nervous system (CNS).
  • No association was found between personal radio use and risk of all cancers (HR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.15) or head/neck/CNS cancers (HR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.39, 1.38).
  • Doubling minutes of call duration was not associated with increased hazard for cancers studied.
  • Results were similar when considering exposure to RF-EMF via mobile phone use and when restricting analyses to police officers only.

Additional Observations

  • No evidence was found for a non-linear association between call duration and cancer risk.
  • Those with higher call duration (90th percentile) had a non-statistically significant 9% higher risk for all cancers, and 40% higher risk for head/neck/CNS cancers.
  • No discernible associations between mobile phone use and cancer risk were detected.

Conclusion

No evidence was found of an association between TETRA use and increased cancer risk among police officers, though the data do not exclude a modestly greater risk with high usage. Wide confidence intervals indicate both increased and decreased risks are possible, and a definite conclusion cannot be reached at this time. Longer follow-up could provide clearer answers. The possible carcinogenicity of RF-EMF remains a concern and warrants ongoing monitoring in occupational settings.

RF-EMF cancer risk police officers TETRA epidemiology mobile radio occupational health
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