Subjective symptoms among mobile phone users--a consequence of absorption of radiofrequency fields?
Wilén J, Sandström M, Hansson Mild K · 2003
View Original AbstractMobile phones with SAR values above 0.5 W/kg increase symptom reports, yet many current phones exceed this threshold.
Plain English Summary
Researchers studied 2,402 mobile phone users to see if radiation absorption levels (SAR) correlated with symptoms like headaches and fatigue. They found that phones with SAR values above 0.5 watts per kilogram, especially when used for long calling times, were associated with increased symptom reporting. This suggests that the amount of radiation your phone emits into your head may directly influence how you feel after using it.
Why This Matters
This study represents a critical piece of evidence linking specific absorption rates to real-world health symptoms. The researchers didn't just look at whether people used phones, but actually measured how much radiation different phone models delivered to users' heads and correlated this with symptom reports. What makes this particularly significant is the 0.5 W/kg threshold they identified - many phones on the market today exceed this level, with some reaching the legal limit of 2.0 W/kg. The reality is that current safety standards focus on preventing tissue heating, not the subtler biological effects this research suggests occur at much lower levels. You don't have to wait for regulators to catch up to this science - you can check your phone's SAR rating in its settings and consider it as one factor when choosing your next device.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- >0.5 W/kg
Exposure Context
This study used >0.5 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 1.3x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
In this extrapolative study, we have selected 2402 people from the epidemiological study who used any of the four most common GSM MP.
We used the information about the prevalence of symptoms, calling time per day, and number of calls ...
The results indicates that SAR values >0.5 W/kg may be an important factor for the prevalence of som...
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2003_subjective_symptoms_among_mobile_500,
author = {Wilén J and Sandström M and Hansson Mild K},
title = {Subjective symptoms among mobile phone users--a consequence of absorption of radiofrequency fields?},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1002/bem.10101},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.10101},
}