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Alterations of visual reaction time and short term memory in military radar personnel.

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Mortazavi SM, Taeb S, Dehghan N · 2013

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Military radar workers showed faster visual reaction times but lower short-term memory scores than a control group.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers investigated health effects of occupational exposure to military radar by measuring visual reaction time and short-term memory in radar personnel and a control group. The mean reaction time in radar workers (N=100) was 238.58 milliseconds, compared with 291.86 milliseconds in the control group (N=57), a difference that was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Short-term memory scores, including forward and backward digit span and word recognition, were lower in radar workers than in the control group (P<0.0001 for each measure).

Why This Matters

The researchers described this as the first study to show that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiation is linked to decreased reaction time and lower short-term memory performance. The authors noted that faster reaction time may lead to a better response to different hazards, framing it as a potentially non-detrimental effect. Overall, the authors concluded that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiations may be linked to some non-detrimental and detrimental health effects.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: Occupational exposure to military radar radiation

Study Details

To study the alterations of Visual Reaction Time and Short Term Memory in Military Radar Personnel

Health effects of occupational exposure to military radar were investigated. Visual reaction time wa...

The mean +/- SD reaction time in radar works (N=100) and the control group (N=57) were 238.58 +/− 23...

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiation leads to decreased reaction time and the lower performance of short-term memory. Altogether, these results indicate that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiations may be linked to some non-detrimental and detrimental health effects.

Cite This Study
Mortazavi SM, Taeb S, Dehghan N (2013). Alterations of visual reaction time and short term memory in military radar personnel. Iran J Public Health. 42(4):428-435, 2013.
Show BibTeX
@article{sm_2013_alterations_of_visual_reaction_1515,
  author = {Mortazavi SM and Taeb S and Dehghan N},
  title = {Alterations of visual reaction time and short term memory in military radar personnel.},
  year = {2013},
  
  url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3684731/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers measured visual reaction time using a computer-assisted test and short-term memory using a modified Wechsler Memory Scale test.
Radar workers had a mean reaction time of 238.58 milliseconds, while the control group had a mean of 291.86 milliseconds (P<0.0001).
Radar workers scored lower on forward digit span (3.56 vs 4.29), backward digit span (2.70 vs 3.62), and word recognition (3.37 vs 5.86), all with P<0.0001.
The authors concluded that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiations may be linked to some non-detrimental and detrimental health effects.
There were 100 radar workers and 57 people in the control group.