Researchers report elevated white blood cell levels among individuals living close to mobile phone towers and among heavy cellphone users, raising questions about potential long-term health effects.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A peer-reviewed scientific study has reported biological changes among individuals living near mobile phone towers, including elevated levels of certain immune cells that researchers say may indicate chronic physiological stress, The Defender reported.
The findings were published in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, where investigators examined blood samples and wireless radiation exposure among residents of Aizawl, India.
According to the researchers, participants who lived close to cellular base stations showed increased white blood cell counts similar to those observed in people who smoke cigarettes. The study also found that extended cellphone use—defined as four to six hours per day—was associated with increased white blood cell levels, particularly among adults under age 30.
“These results indicate human biological systems are under stress from both mobile phone use and local mobile phone tower exposures, leading to potential health effects,” the study authors wrote.
White blood cells play a central role in the body’s immune response. Medical guidance from the Cleveland Clinic explains that these cells typically increase during infections or inflammatory responses. Elevated levels can also occur in certain medical conditions, a phenomenon described as a high white blood cell count in clinical references such as those provided by the Cleveland Clinic.
The researchers suggested that persistent exposure to wireless signals may contribute to ongoing immune system stimulation. Previous reporting examining potential health implications of wireless exposure has discussed possible links between long-term exposure to wireless technologies and biological stress responses.
Study authors Julie McCredden, Ph.D., and Zothan Siama, Ph.D., said their findings indicate that exposure to wireless signals from mobile devices and towers may contribute to inflammatory conditions over time. McCredden is affiliated with the Oceania Radiofrequency Scientific Advisory Association (ORSAA) in Brisbane, Australia, while Siama serves as an assistant professor at Mizoram University in Aizawl, India.
In comments provided to The Defender, the researchers said, “People’s everyday exposures to mobile phones and towers may be affecting their health by creating or adding to inflammatory conditions and immune system depletion.”
They added that wireless devices such as cellphones and nearby towers represent potential sources of physical stress. “Unfortunately, most doctors are not aware of the potential immune and inflammatory effects of exposure to wireless frequencies, because they are not trained in environmental health,” they said.
The study involved blood analysis from 101 adult participants living in the city of Aizawl. Fifty individuals lived within 60 meters of a cell tower, while 51 participants resided more than 300 meters away. Researchers measured levels of radiofrequency (RF) radiation in the living rooms of participants’ homes to estimate exposure levels.
Participants were also surveyed about lifestyle factors including cellphone use, duration of residence in their homes and other conditions that might influence physiological stress responses. Researchers attempted to match participants by age and gender to improve comparisons between those living closer to and farther from the towers.
The analysis found that approximately 24 percent of individuals residing near a tower showed elevated levels of monocytes, a specific type of white blood cell involved in immune activity. Those levels were described as comparable to levels found in individuals who smoke cigarettes.
Participants living more than 300 meters away from cell towers did not show the same increase.
Epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher described the rise in monocyte levels as one of the study’s most notable findings in commentary posted on The Focal Points.
“Monocytes are not just generic white blood cells. They are central players in systemic inflammation and vascular injury. … They are strongly associated with cardiovascular risk,” Hulscher wrote.
McCredden and Siama also highlighted the increase in monocytes as potentially significant because of their role in inflammatory processes. The researchers said exposure to cell tower radiation may be “contributing to the range of chronic inflammatory conditions we are seeing in the modern world.”
The same research team previously examined similar issues in a separate investigation conducted in the same region of India. That earlier study conducted in the same area reported that residents living closer to cell towers experienced higher rates of allergies, infections and cognitive complaints compared with residents living farther away.
Researchers also analyzed cellphone usage patterns among study participants. Individuals who reported using a phone between four and six hours per day were more likely to show elevated levels of lymphocytes, another category of immune cells involved in defending the body against infections.
More than half of the participants in that heavy-use group recorded lymphocyte levels above standard reference ranges. Most of those individuals were younger than 30 years old.
Lymphocytes typically increase during short-term immune responses such as infections. However, the researchers noted that sustained activation of immune cells could potentially strain the immune system over time.
“This is an important consideration given the assaults on the immune system that we have seen in the last few years globally,” the authors wrote.
The investigators also measured levels of amylase, an enzyme associated with digestive processes, and cortisol, a hormone linked to stress responses. Results for these markers were inconsistent, and the researchers said the data did not allow firm conclusions about how wireless exposure might influence those indicators.
The publication of the study comes amid broader discussions about possible health effects linked to wireless radiation exposure. Research summaries examining wireless technology have explored possible associations between long-term exposure and a range of health outcomes, including health effects such as metabolic disorders, diabetes, sleeping disorders and cancer risks discussed in some studies.
In the United States, exposure limits for radiofrequency emissions from wireless infrastructure are set by the Federal Communications Commission. The agency last updated its limits in 1996.
Those standards were originally based on a limited set of research from earlier decades, including studies cited in discussions of handful of studies from the 1970s and 1980s that primarily examined short-term heating effects from high levels of radiation exposure.
Current wireless technologies typically emit radiation at lower levels that do not cause tissue heating, raising ongoing questions among some researchers about whether existing limits adequately address potential long-term exposure.
International standards vary. According to the advocacy group Physicians for Safe Technology, India’s regulatory limits for radiofrequency radiation are roughly ten times lower than those permitted in the United States. India’s threshold for exposure at a frequency of 900 megahertz is set at 45 microwatts per square centimeter, compared with 450 microwatts per square centimeter allowed under U.S. standards.
Regulatory debates in the United States have intensified in recent years. In November 2025, the organization Children’s Health Defense filed a legal motion urging the FCC to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish exposure limits designed to protect public health.
The group has also warned that it may pursue further legal action if regulators do not comply with a 2021 federal court ruling requiring the agency to review evidence regarding potential health effects of wireless radiation. That evidence includes approximately 11,000 pages of evidence submitted in connection with the case.
Miriam Eckenfels, director of the organization’s Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless Program, said the motion represents what she described as “a new phase of attack” aimed at prompting regulatory review.
“The document essentially tells the FCC to either protect people, or get out of the way and let other federal agencies, like HHS, set health and safety limits for wireless radiation exposure,” Eckenfels said.
As of the time the study and related filings were reported, the FCC had not issued a public response to the motion.
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