Alteration of diurnal rhythms of blood pressure and heart rate to workers exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
Szmigielski, S, Bortkiewicz, A, Gadzicka, E, Zmyslony, M, Kubacki, R · 1998
View Original AbstractRadiofrequency EMF exposure disrupted workers' natural daily blood pressure and heart rate rhythms, with stronger fields causing greater disruption.
Plain English Summary
Polish researchers studied 61 workers exposed to radiofrequency EMF at radio stations and compared their daily blood pressure and heart rate patterns to 42 unexposed workers. They found that EMF exposure disrupted the natural daily rhythms of both blood pressure and heart rate, with higher exposure levels causing more pronounced effects. This suggests that radiofrequency radiation may interfere with the body's autonomic nervous system, which controls these vital functions.
Why This Matters
This study reveals something concerning about how radiofrequency EMF affects our most basic physiological rhythms. The disruption of natural blood pressure and heart rate cycles isn't just an academic curiosity - these rhythms are fundamental to cardiovascular health and are controlled by the autonomic nervous system. What makes this research particularly relevant is that the exposure levels (20-550 V/m) overlap with what you might encounter near cell towers or other RF infrastructure. The dose-response relationship the researchers found - where higher exposure caused greater disruption - strengthens the case that these effects are genuinely caused by EMF rather than coincidence. The fact that these were healthy workers makes the findings even more significant, as it suggests that EMF can disrupt normal physiology even in people without underlying health conditions.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study was to determine the course of diurnal rhythms of blood pressure and heart rate in a group of workers exposed to various intensities of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
In the study we used 61 healthy workers (aged 30-50 years) who had been exposed to radiofrequency EM...
Healthy men aged 28-49 years, working on a pattern of 12-24-12-48 h, exhibited typical, well-preserv...
Occupational exposure to radiofrequency EMF can result in changes of the diurnal rhythms of blood pressure and heart rate with lowering of their amplitudes and a shift of the acrophase. The clinical relevance of the present finding needs to be investigated in further studies.
Show BibTeX
@article{szmigielski_1998_alteration_of_diurnal_rhythms_2729,
author = {Szmigielski and S and Bortkiewicz and A and Gadzicka and E and Zmyslony and M and Kubacki and R},
title = {Alteration of diurnal rhythms of blood pressure and heart rate to workers exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.},
year = {1998},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10212373/},
}