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Symptoms & Sensitivity

Health response of two communities to military antennae in Cyprus.

No Effects Found

Preece AW, Georgiou AG, Dunn EJ, Farrow S · 2007

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Military radio transmitters correlated with increased headaches and migraines, but researchers attributed symptoms to aircraft noise rather than RF exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers studied residents living near powerful military radio transmitters in Cyprus to investigate health complaints. They found that people living in exposed villages reported 2.7 to 3.7 times more headaches, migraines, and dizziness compared to unexposed residents, but no increase in cancer or birth defects. The researchers suggested these symptoms were more likely caused by noise from military aircraft or psychological stress from seeing the antennas rather than the radio waves themselves.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 30 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 30 MHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: 7-30 MHz

Study Details

This study investigated concerns that have been raised about past and future health effects caused by high power transmissions of high frequency (7-30 MHz) radio waves from military antenna systems at Akrotiri, Cyprus.

A cross-sectional study of three villages (two exposed, one unexposed) collected longitudinal and sh...

Field strengths within the two "exposed" villages were a maximum of 0.30 (Volts/Vm(-1) metre) from t...

It was clear that even this close (1-3 km) to powerful transmissions, the dominant sources of radiofrequency fields were cell phone and national broadcast systems. There was no excess of cancer, birth defects or obstetric problems. There was heightened risk perception and a considerable excess of migraine, headache and dizziness, which appears to share a gradient with radiofrequency exposure. The authors report this association but suggest this is unlikely to be an effect of radiofrequency and more likely to be antenna visibility or aircraft noise.

Cite This Study
Preece AW, Georgiou AG, Dunn EJ, Farrow S (2007). Health response of two communities to military antennae in Cyprus. Occup Environ Med.64(6):402-8,2007.
Show BibTeX
@article{aw_2007_health_response_of_two_3314,
  author = {Preece AW and Georgiou AG and Dunn EJ and Farrow S},
  title = {Health response of two communities to military antennae in Cyprus.},
  year = {2007},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17259164/},
}
PubMed: 17259164

Cited By (36 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2007 Cyprus study found residents near military radio transmitters reported 2.7 to 3.7 times more headaches, migraines, and dizziness than unexposed residents. However, researchers concluded these symptoms were likely caused by aircraft noise or psychological stress from seeing the antennas, not the radio waves themselves.
The Cyprus military antenna study found no increase in cancer rates among residents living 1-3 kilometers from powerful radio transmitters operating at 7-30 MHz frequencies. Cancer numbers were too small to show statistical differences between exposed and unexposed communities over the study period.
Research on Cyprus residents near military transmitters found no evidence of birth abnormalities or differences in pregnancy outcomes compared to unexposed areas. The study specifically looked for birth defects and obstetric problems but found no increase in either exposed community.
A study of Cyprus residents near military radio towers found increased reports of headaches, migraines, and dizziness, but no cancer or birth defects. Researchers attributed the symptoms to aircraft noise and psychological stress rather than electromagnetic radiation exposure from the transmitters.
The Cyprus study found residents near visible military antennas had greater negative health perceptions and higher risk concerns about electromagnetic pollution. Researchers suggested that seeing the large antenna structures contributed more to health complaints than actual radiofrequency exposure from the transmissions.