Effects of radiation leakage from microwave oven on the body weight, thyroid hormones and cortisol levels in adult female mice

Introduction: Recent increase of endocrine disorders may be correlated to the increased exposure to electromagnetic fields from various instruments. Radiation leakage from microwave oven may be harmful for users. Ladies have the highest levels of contact with microwave ovens. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of radiation leakage from microwave oven on body weight, cortisol and thyroid hormones. Methods: Radiation leakage of microwave oven was measured by RF measuring instrument. For this study, 20 adult two-month-old female mice weighing 25-28 g were randomly divided in control and test groups. Test group was exposed to 2450 MHZ microwaves produced by a microwave oven 3 times a day, 30 minutes each time. After 60 days, body weights of both groups were determined and blood was collected by heart puncture. Cortisol and thyroid levels were evaluated in serum by an RIA method. Results: radiation leakage from oven showed variation and ranged from 6.5 to 57.5 mW/cm2. Mean body weight changes in test and control groups were 0 and 4.54 grams, respectively. Cortisol (23.6 ± 2.24 vs. 13.6 ± 1.47 ng/ml) and T4 (98.4 ± 7.3 vs. 67.0 ± 5.9 nmol/L) levels were significantly increased in the test group compared to the control group, respectively. Level of T3 did not alter significantly. Conclusion: We found that microwaves leaked from oven decrease body weight and increase T4 and cortisol levels, and therefore have deleterious health effects.