Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.
Mobile phone headache: a double blind, sham-controlled provocation study.
Oftedal G, Straume A, Johnsson A, Stovner L · 2007
View Original AbstractPeople claiming mobile phone headaches couldn't distinguish real from fake radiation exposure, suggesting symptoms stem from expectation rather than RF fields.
Plain English Summary
Researchers tested 17 people who claimed mobile phones caused their headaches by exposing them to real phone radiation and fake radiation without telling them which was which. The participants actually reported slightly more pain during the fake exposures than the real ones, and their heart rate and blood pressure didn't change based on whether they received real or fake radiation. This suggests mobile phone headaches are likely a nocebo effect - where expecting negative effects can actually cause symptoms even without real exposure.
Study Details
The objective was to test whether exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields from mobile phones may cause head pain or discomfort and whether it may influence physiological variables in individuals attributing symptoms to mobile phones, but not to electromagnetic fields in general.
Seventeen eligible individuals, who experienced these symptoms in an open provocation test, took par...
The increase in pain or discomfort (visual analogue scales) in RF sessions was 10.1 and in sham sess...
The study gave no evidence that RF fields from mobile phones may cause head pain or discomfort or influence physiological variables. The most likely reason for the symptoms is a nocebo effect.
Show BibTeX
@article{g_2007_mobile_phone_headache_a_3279,
author = {Oftedal G and Straume A and Johnsson A and Stovner L},
title = {Mobile phone headache: a double blind, sham-controlled provocation study.},
year = {2007},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17359515/},
}