The effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic field (50-60 Hz) exposure on spontaneous apoptosis: The results of a meta-analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This paper is a meta-analysis of the published data from in vitro studies to evaluate whether spontaneous apoptosis might be influenced by extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MFs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive scientific literature search in electronic databases was conducted and studies covering the period 2000-2010 were selected. Then, published studies involving the desired topic were retrieved. The inclusion criteria were percentage of apoptosis in the cells exposed to 50-60 Hz ELF-MFs. The statistical analysis was performed by comprehensive meta-analysis version 2. RESULTS: The summary measure of association (95 confidence interval) for all 18 effect estimated from 8 studies was 1.18 (1.15, 1.20). Heterogeneity among studies was found. There was no evidence of publication bias for the association between exposure to MF and apoptosis risk. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis provided conclusive data that ELF-MFs can increase apoptosis in cancer and normal cells. Furthermore, there is a possibly individual intensity and time range with maximum created effect according to window effect.