Malek F, Rani KA, Rahim HA, Omar MH · 2015
The study aimed to determine whether short-term exposure at 1 V/m to typical GSM and UMTS signals affects cognitive performance and physiological parameters. The sample included 200 subjects, with 50.0% reporting idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) and 50.0% non-IEI-EMF. No statistically significant differences were found between real exposure and sham exposure for cognitive performance or physiological effects in either group (P’s > 0.05).
Zheng F et al. · 2015
Fatigue was significantly associated with years of MP usage and daily duration of MP calls, while headache was significantly associated with daily duration of MP calls. After adjusting for confounders, only the association between fatigue and MP usage remained statistically significant, and no significant association was found between MP use and other physical symptoms.
Klaps A, Ponocny I, Winker R, Kundi M, Auersperg F, Barth A. · 2015
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis based on 17 studies. Double-blind studies found no effects on human well-being. Field or unblinded studies clearly showed effects on well-being. The authors concluded that this provides evidence for nocebo effects. They also stated that effects of mobile phone base stations seem unlikely, but nocebo effects occur.
Szyjkowska A, Gadzicka E, Szymczak W, Bortkiewicz A. · 2014
Most respondents used their phones daily or almost daily. Users who talked frequently and for long periods reported headaches (63.2%) and fatigue (45%) significantly more often than other users. Intensive users also reported warmth around the ear (47.3%) and at the auricle (44.6%) more frequently. Most symptoms appeared during or right after a call and disappeared within 2 hours, though 26% reported continuous headache lasting over 6 hours.
Nordin S, Neely G, Olsson D, Sandström M · 2014
This study assessed differences in odor and noise intolerance between persons with EHS and healthy controls using the Chemical Sensitivity Scale and Noise Sensitivity Scale. The EHS group scored significantly higher than controls on all CSS and NSS scales. Correlation coefficients between CSS and NSS scores ranged from 0.60 to 0.65 across measures. The findings suggest an association between EHS and odor and noise intolerance.
Denny-Bas V, Zmirou-Navier D, De Tychey C, Briançon S. · 2014
A self-administered questionnaire was sent to volunteers and achieved a 72% response rate. The questionnaire measured perceived risk and 11 psychometric properties on a 0-to-10 visual analogue scale, and anxiety was assessed with the Spielberger questionnaire. Mean risk scores were higher for passive and active smoking (8.75 and 8.31) than for cell phones and masts (4.44 and 4.73). Psychometric property scores for cell phones and masts were higher than for smoking, especially for dissatisfaction with information and authorities' capacity to master the risk.
Chiu CT, Chang YH, Chen CC, Ko MC, Li CY. · 2014
Hässig M et al. · 2014
The study aimed to observe the influence of non-ionizing radiation from base stations on redox protein activity in bovines. The experiment found that NIR changed enzyme activities, with certain enzymes disabled and others enabled. Individual cows showed varied reactions, with some reacting to NIR, others not reacting, or reacting inversely. The study approach of testing ten cows each ten times during three phases was deemed appropriate. The authors noted that future studies should set the post-exposure phase later.
De Luca C et al. · 2014
The study tested a panel of 12 metabolic blood redox-related parameters and selected drug-metabolizing-enzyme gene polymorphisms in 153 EHS, 147 MCS, and 132 control Italians. They found milder pro-oxidant and proinflammatory changes in the electromagnetic hypersensitivity group, including an increased plasma coenzyme-Q10 oxidation ratio. Genetic analysis showed altered distribution of CYP2C19 variants and a 9.7-fold higher risk of electromagnetic hypersensitivity for a combined GSTT1 and GSTM1 null haplotype.
Monazzam MR et al. · 2014
Researchers measured magnetic flux density in a control building and two substations according to IEEE standard 644-1994. They used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and General Health Quality questionnaires to assess sleep quality and public health in 40 workers. In the case group, 28% had poor health status and 61% had a sleep disorder, while all control group members were in good health and only 4.5% had undesirable sleep quality. A significant difference existed between groups in sleep quality and general health, but no significant relationship was found between exposure level and these outcomes. Measured EMF values were below ACGIH limits, and the authors recommended further epidemiological studies and periodic testing.
Liu H et al. · 2014
Frilot C 2nd, Carrubba S, Marino AA. · 2014
EEPs and auditory evoked potentials were detected in awake rats and under xylazine anesthesia but not under ketamine anesthesia. The duration and latency of EEPs were unchanged by xylazine anesthesia. The authors concluded that EMF transduction likely involves NMDA receptor-mediated glutamate neurotransmission.
Yogesh S, Abha S, Priyanka S. · 2014
The study enrolled 100 medical students divided into cases with more than two hours of daily mobile phone use (n=57) and controls with two hours or less (n=43), and assessed sleep quality using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. Differences between groups were tested with the Mann-Whitney U test and Student's t-test, and correlations were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation with significance set at p<0.05. Evening mobile phone use showed a significant negative association with sleep quality (r=-0.606, p=0.042), where higher PSQI scores indicate worse sleep.
Velayutham P, Govindasamy GK, Raman R, Prepageran N, Ng KH · 2014
The study was a prospective single-blinded study that used high-frequency audiometry. Researchers compared the dominant ear to the non-dominant ear in 100 subjects because they could not find enough non-users as a control group. Chronic mobile phone usage revealed high frequency hearing loss in the dominant ear compared to the non-dominant ear. The loss in the dominant ear was statistically significant (P < 0.05).
Salunke BP, Umathe SN, Chavan JG. · 2014
Researchers exposed Swiss albino mice to a 50 Hz, 10 G extremely low-frequency magnetic field for 8 hours per day across periods of up to 120 days. Anxiety was measured using an elevated plus maze, open field test, and social interaction test, on the 7th, 30th, 60th, 90th, and 120th exposure day, respectively. The findings suggest that the magnetic field significantly induced anxiety behavior and that the NMDA receptor was involved in its effect. Glutamate and GABA levels were significantly elevated in the hippocampus and hypothalamus, though GABA receptor modulators did not produce a significant effect on the induced anxiety.
Pelletier A et al. · 2014
Researchers recorded thermal preference and sleep in 18 young male Wistar rats, with nine exposed to a low-intensity RF-EMF at 900 MHz and nine serving as non-exposed controls. During the light period, exposed rats preferred to sleep at an air temperature of 31°C while controls preferred 28°C. During the dark period, no significant differences between groups were found.
Júnior LC et al. · 2014
Researchers exposed male Wistar rats to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation from a GSM cell phone (1·8 GHz) for 3 days. After exposure, behavioral tests including the open field and object recognition tests were performed. The exposed animals did not present anxiety patterns or working memory impairment, but stress behavior actions were observed.
Bhattacharya, R, Roy, R. · 2013
Gómez-Perretta C, Navarro EA, Segura J, Portolés M. · 2013
Researchers re-analyzed data from a 2003 study on health symptoms related to microwave exposure from mobile phone base stations. They used binary logistic regression with bootstrapping to model symptoms as a function of exposure. The symptoms most related to exposure were lack of appetite, lack of concentration, irritability, and trouble sleeping. Concerns about base stations were strongly related to trouble sleeping. The exposure variable remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis.
Tseng MC, Lin YP, Hu FC, Cheng TJ. · 2013
The study investigated perceived risks of EMFs and other environmental sources and their relationships with psychopathology and self-reported EMF sensitivity. A telephone survey of 1,251 adults found that higher EMF sensitivity, psychopathology, being female, married, more educated, or having a catastrophic illness were linked to higher perceived risks of EMF-related and all environmental sources. Psychopathology did not moderate the association between EMF sensitivity and risk perception.
Hassoy H, Durusoy R, Karababa AO. · 2013
The cross-sectional survey included 2,240 high school students in Bornova, Izmir, selected by stratified cluster sampling from 20,493 students. Base stations received the highest mean risk score (4.34) and the highest prevalence of high risk perception (86.7%). Female students, those with lower maternal education, and non-phone users reported higher risk perceptions for mobile phones and incivility, and girls also perceived greater risk from base stations.
Hagström M, Auranen J, Ekman R. · 2013
Byun YH et al. · 2013
Researchers conducted a longitudinal study of 2,422 children in 10 Korean cities to examine the association between mobile phone use and ADHD symptoms while considering lead exposure. They found that mobile phone use for voice calls was linked to higher ADHD symptom risk, but only among children with relatively high lead exposure. The results suggest that simultaneous exposure to lead and RF from mobile phone use was associated with increased ADHD symptom risk, though reverse causality could not be excluded.
Alsanosi AA et al. · 2013
Researchers conducted a prospective controlled clinical trial at King Abdulaziz University Hospital from July 2009 to July 2011. They measured hearing threshold levels and distortion product otoacoustic emissions before and immediately after 60 minutes of exposure to the same model of mobile phone. In test ears, hearing threshold levels shifted significantly at 1000 and 2000 Hz but not at other frequencies, while non-test ears showed no significant shift. Test ears also showed significant DPOAE differences at 1000 Hz, 1400 Hz, 2000 Hz, and the average of all frequencies, while non-test ears did not. Heat or pain was the most commonly reported symptom after exposure.
Maestú C et al. · 2013
A double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed at Sagrado Corazón Hospital in Seville, Spain, enrolling female fibromyalgia patients aged 22 to 50 years. The stimulation group received 8 Hz pulsed magnetic fields of very low intensity, while the sham group underwent the same protocol without stimulation. The stimulation group showed statistically significant improvement in somatosensory pain thresholds, ability to perform daily activities, perceived chronic pain, and sleep quality compared with the control group. Pain thresholds improved after the first session, while the other measures improved after the sixth week. No significant differences were found for depression, fatigue, headache severity, or serotonin levels, and no adverse effects were reported.
