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A cognitive-behavioral treatment of patients suffering from "electric hypersensitivity". Subjective effects and reactions in a double-blind provocation study.

No Effects Found

Andersson B, Berg M, Arnetz BB, Melin L, Langlet I, Lidén S. · 1996

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Psychological treatment helped reduce disability in electrically hypersensitive patients, though controlled EMF exposure produced no measurable physiological reactions.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Swedish researchers studied 17 people who claimed to be electrically hypersensitive, testing whether psychological treatment could help their symptoms. While the treatment group reported feeling less disabled by their condition, neither group showed any actual physiological reactions to electromagnetic field exposure in double-blind tests. This suggests that while the symptoms are real and distressing, they may not be directly caused by EMF exposure itself.

Study Details

This study tested psychological treatment of patients with "electric hypersensitivity."

Seventeen patients were randomly assigned to a treatment group or a waiting-list control group in a ...

The patients in the experimental group reduced their evaluations of the disability more than the con...

The conclusion from the provocation test is that this group of alleged hypersensitive patients did not react to the electromagnetic fields.

Cite This Study
Andersson B, Berg M, Arnetz BB, Melin L, Langlet I, Lidén S. (1996). A cognitive-behavioral treatment of patients suffering from "electric hypersensitivity". Subjective effects and reactions in a double-blind provocation study. J Occup Environ Med. 38(8):752-758, 1996.
Show BibTeX
@article{b_1996_a_cognitivebehavioral_treatment_of_2943,
  author = {Andersson B and Berg M and Arnetz BB and Melin L and Langlet I and Lidén S.},
  title = {A cognitive-behavioral treatment of patients suffering from "electric hypersensitivity". Subjective effects and reactions in a double-blind provocation study.},
  year = {1996},
  
  url = {https://journals.lww.com/joem/Abstract/1996/08000/A_Cognitive_Behavioral_Treatment_of_Patients.9.aspx},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Swedish researchers studied 17 people who claimed to be electrically hypersensitive, testing whether psychological treatment could help their symptoms. While the treatment group reported feeling less disabled by their condition, neither group showed any actual physiological reactions to electromagnetic field exposure in double-blind tests. This suggests that while the symptoms are real and distressing, they may not be directly caused by EMF exposure itself.