8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Symptoms & Sensitivity123 citations

Mobile phone base stations and adverse health effects: phase 2 of a cross-sectional study with measured radio frequency electromagnetic fields.

Bioeffects Seen

Berg-Beckhoff G, Blettner M, Kowall B, Breckenkamp J, Schlehofer B, Schmiedel S, Bornkessel C, Reis U, Potthoff P, Schuz J · 2009

View Original Abstract
Share:

Measured cell tower radiation showed no health effects, but believing towers cause harm was linked to more symptoms.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

German researchers measured actual radiofrequency radiation levels around cell phone towers and surveyed 3,526 people about their health symptoms. They found no connection between measured radiation exposure and health problems like sleep disturbances, headaches, or mental health issues. However, people who believed the towers were making them sick did report more symptoms, suggesting psychological factors may play a role in perceived health effects.

Why This Matters

This large German study represents one of the more rigorous attempts to examine cell tower health effects by actually measuring exposure levels rather than just estimating them. The finding that measured RF exposure showed no health association, while perceived exposure did correlate with symptoms, highlights a critical distinction in EMF research. What this means for you is that proximity to cell towers alone may not be the primary concern many believe it to be. However, this study examined only the relatively low-level, continuous exposures from distant towers, not the much higher exposures from devices held against your body. The research also focused on short-term symptoms rather than long-term health effects like cancer, which require decades of follow-up to detect.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

The aim of the cross-sectional study was to test the hypothesis that exposure to continuous low-level radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted from mobile phone base stations was related to various health disturbances.

For the investigation people living mainly in urban regions were selected from a nationwide study in...

For the five health scores used, no differences in their medians were observed for exposed versus no...

In this large population-based study, measured RF-EMFs emitted from mobile phone base stations were not associated with adverse health effects.

Cite This Study
Berg-Beckhoff G, Blettner M, Kowall B, Breckenkamp J, Schlehofer B, Schmiedel S, Bornkessel C, Reis U, Potthoff P, Schuz J (2009). Mobile phone base stations and adverse health effects: phase 2 of a cross-sectional study with measured radio frequency electromagnetic fields. Occup Environ Med 66:124-130, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{g_2009_mobile_phone_base_stations_1902,
  author = {Berg-Beckhoff G and Blettner M and Kowall B and Breckenkamp J and Schlehofer B and Schmiedel S and Bornkessel C and Reis U and Potthoff P and Schuz J},
  title = {Mobile phone base stations and adverse health effects: phase 2 of a cross-sectional study with measured radio frequency electromagnetic fields.},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19151228/},
}
PubMed: 19151228

Cited By (123 papers)

View all 123 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2009 German study measuring actual radiofrequency levels around cell towers found no connection between measured radiation exposure and health problems. The researchers surveyed 3,526 people and found no differences in sleep, headaches, or mental health between exposed and non-exposed participants.
Yes, psychological factors appear to play a role. The German study found that people who attributed health problems to cell towers reported significantly more sleep disturbances and health complaints, even when actual measured radiation levels showed no correlation with symptoms.
German researchers studied 3,526 people in a large population-based investigation. They measured actual radiofrequency electromagnetic field levels around mobile phone base stations and surveyed participants about various health symptoms including sleep disturbances, headaches, and mental health issues.
No, individuals concerned about mobile phone base stations did not have different well-being scores compared to those who were not concerned. The 2009 study found that concern about towers alone did not correlate with measurably different health outcomes.
Researchers examined five health categories: sleep disturbances, headaches, mental health, physical health, and general health complaints. They used standardized health scores to compare people living at different distances and radiation exposure levels from mobile phone base stations.