Increase in memory problems in children linked to wireless radiation exposure
Children and adolescents in Sweden and Norway are experiencing an “alarming” increase in memory problems, which the authors of a new peer-reviewed study attributed to increased exposure to wireless radiation.
“The steep rise in memory problems cannot be explained solely by modifications in diagnostic criteria or reporting to registries,” said Lennart Hardell, MD, Ph.D., one of the study’s authors, in a press release.
He added: “We demand that our findings on the increasing number of children with memory disorders be taken seriously by the health authorities and that the increasing exposure of children to wireless radiation be considered as a possible cause.”
“Therefore, we call for measures to reduce exposure to RF radiation [radio frequency radiation] in order to protect the brain and overall health of children.”
The study was published in the Archives of Clinical and Biomedical Research.
Hardell, an oncologist and epidemiologist with the Environment and Cancer Research Foundation, has authored more than 350 papers, nearly 60 of which deal with RF radiation. He is also one of the first researchers to publish reports on the toxicity of Agent Orange.
Hardell and the study’s lead author, Mona Nilsson, co-founder and director of the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation, examined national health data in Sweden and Norway and found that the number of doctor visits for memory problems in Norwegian children aged 5-19 years increased approximately 8.5 times between 2006 and 2024.
In Sweden, the number of children aged 5-19 diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment – a diagnosis that includes memory problems – increased almost 60-fold between 2010 and 2024.
“The results need to be taken seriously and evaluated,” Hardell told The Defender. “Measures should be taken to reduce children’s overall exposure – especially in schools.”
Nilsson agreed. “These alarming trends need to be reversed – radiation exposure should be reduced, and people need to be informed about the associated health risks,” she said.
Authors link memory problems to wireless radiation
The authors stated in their report that wireless radiation is a major cause of memory loss in children.
They cited numerous epidemiological and experimental studies showing that very low levels of RF radiation can harmfully affect the brain – especially the hippocampus, which plays a central role in memory and learning.
“There is ample evidence [going back several decades], in both animals and humans, that RF radiation impairs memory,” said Nilsson. “The trends we are seeing coincide closely with the sharply increasing exposure of children and adolescents to RF radiation.”
Wireless exposure has increased over the last decade due to the growing use of mobile phones, wireless headsets, Wi-Fi and 5G, according to Hardell.
“Other contributing factors can, of course, not be excluded,” he said. “They should, however, be defined and not based on hypothetical discussion.”
New investigation targets “biased” European report on RF radiation
The new study coincides with the European Ombudsman’s investigation into how the European Commission handled a major report that found no “moderate or strong” evidence of a link between adverse health effects and chronic or acute RF radiation exposure from existing wireless technologies.
The European Ombudsman Institute, who “investigates complaints about mismanagement by EU institutions and bodies”, will question the European Commission about how it selected the experts to produce the report, said Sophie Pelletier, President of PRIARTEM/Electrosensibles de France, in a press release dated October 22.
The document, known as the SCHEER report, was adopted in April 2023 by the Scientific Committee on Health, Environment and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) of the European Commission.
The SCHEER report was “clearly biased”, according to a critique published in October 2023 by the Council for Safe Telecommunications in Denmark and the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation.
The investigation stems from a complaint by several European non-profit organizations, including the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation, alleging that the authors of the SCHEER report had conflicts of interest due to industry ties or industry-funded research.
The non-profit organizations also claimed that the European Commission excluded experts who were critical of the potential health effects of wireless radiation from the report’s working group and that the report’s authors ignored peer-reviewed studies showing harmful effects from exposure below current limits.
In the USA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not updated its exposure limits for RF radiation since 1996, relying largely on a few sample studies from the 1970s and 1980s.
The FCC has so far failed to comply with a 2021 court order to explain how it came to the conclusion that its current guidelines adequately protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of RF radiation exposure.
Author: Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.
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November 11, 2025