6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body

Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.

Symptoms & Sensitivity

Effects of short-term W-CDMA mobile phone base station exposure on women with or without mobile phone related symptoms

No Effects Found

Furubayashi T, Ushiyama A, Terao Y, Mizuno Y, Shirasawa K, Pongpaibool P, Simba AY, Wake K, Nishikawa M, Miyawaki K, Yasuda A, Uchiyama M, Yamashita HK, Masuda H, Hirota S, Takahashi M, Okano T, Inomata-Terada S, Sokejima S, Maruyama E, Watanabe S, Taki M, Ohkubo C, Ugawa Y. · 2009

View Original Abstract
Share:

Women with mobile phone related symptoms did not detect EMF exposure better than controls but reported more discomfort regardless of actual exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers conducted a double-blind, cross-over study with 11 women reporting mobile phone related symptoms and 43 control women. Participants were exposed to 2.14 GHz W-CDMA fields at 10 V/m for 30 minutes under continuous, intermittent, and sham conditions. The symptom group did not detect real exposure better than controls but reported more discomfort during both real and sham exposure, with no differences in psychological, cognitive, or autonomic measures.

Why This Matters

The researchers measured psychological and cognitive parameters before and after exposure and monitored autonomic functions while asking subjects to report their perception of EMF and discomfort. The authors concluded that there was no evidence of a causal link between hypersensitivity symptoms and EMF exposure from base stations.

Exposure Details

Electric Field
10 V/m
Source/Device
2.14 GHz W-CDMA
Exposure Duration
30 min

Exposure Context

This study used 10 V/m for electric fields:

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.

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 2.14 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 2.14 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

To investigate possible health effects of mobile phone use, we conducted a double-blind, cross-over provocation study to confirm whether subjects with mobile phone related symptoms (MPRS) are more susceptible than control subjects to the effect of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from base stations.

We sent questionnaires to 5,000 women and obtained 2,472 valid responses from possible candidates; f...

The MPRS group did not differ from the controls in their ability to detect exposure to EMF; neverthe...

In conclusion, we found no evidence of any causal link between hypersensitivity symptoms and exposure to EMF from base stations.

Cite This Study
Furubayashi T, Ushiyama A, Terao Y, Mizuno Y, Shirasawa K, Pongpaibool P, Simba AY, Wake K, Nishikawa M, Miyawaki K, Yasuda A, Uchiyama M, Yamashita HK, Masuda H, Hirota S, Takahashi M, Okano T, Inomata-Terada S, Sokejima S, Maruyama E, Watanabe S, Taki M, Ohkubo C, Ugawa Y. (2009). Effects of short-term W-CDMA mobile phone base station exposure on women with or without mobile phone related symptoms Bioelectromagnetics. 30(2):100-113, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{t_2009_effects_of_shortterm_wcdma_2866,
  author = {Furubayashi T and Ushiyama A and Terao Y and Mizuno Y and Shirasawa K and Pongpaibool P and Simba AY and Wake K and Nishikawa M and Miyawaki K and Yasuda A and Uchiyama M and Yamashita HK and Masuda H and Hirota S and Takahashi M and Okano T and Inomata-Terada S and Sokejima S and Maruyama E and Watanabe S and Taki M and Ohkubo C and Ugawa Y.},
  title = {Effects of short-term W-CDMA mobile phone base station exposure on women with or without mobile phone related symptoms},
  year = {2009},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.20446},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.20446},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.20446

Cited By (60 papers)

View all 60 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used a double-blind, cross-over provocation design with four exposure conditions lasting 30 minutes each.
The study included 11 women with mobile phone related symptoms and 43 control women.
Participants were exposed to 2.14 GHz W-CDMA fields at 10 V/m under continuous, intermittent, and sham conditions with and without noise.
The symptom group did not differ from controls in their ability to detect EMF exposure.
The researchers concluded there was no evidence of a causal link between hypersensitivity symptoms and EMF exposure from base stations.