"Radiation exposure must be reduced, and people must be informed about the associated health risks," one of the study's authors said.

Children and teens in Sweden and Norway are experiencing an "alarming" rise in memory problems, which the authors of a new peer-reviewed study attributed to increased exposure to wireless radiation.

"The steep increase in memory issues cannot be explained by changes in diagnostic criteria or reporting to the registries alone," Lennart Hardell, M.D., Ph.D., one of the study's authors, said in a press release. He added:

"We urge our findings on increasing numbers of children having impaired memory to be taken seriously by public health authorities and consider children's increasing exposure to wireless radiation as a possible cause.

"Thus, we ask for measures aimed at decreasing exposure to RF radiation [radiofrequency radiation] to protect the brain and general health of children."

The study was published this month 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 address RF radiation. He is also one of the first researchers to publish reports on the toxicity of Agent Orange.

Hardell and lead study 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 medical consultations for memory disturbances in Norwegian children ages 5-19 increased roughly 8.5-fold from 2006 to 2024.

In Sweden, the number of children ages 5-19 diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment — a diagnosis that includes memory problems — increased nearly 60-fold from 2010 to 2024.

"The findings must be taken seriously and evaluated," Hardell told The Defender. "Action must be taken to reduce children's overall exposure — especially in schools."

Nilsson agreed. "These alarming trends must be reversed — radiation exposure must be reduced, and people must be informed about the associated health risks," she said.