Unknown authors · 2002
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 1997 among 15,000 men and women aged 19 to 80 in Stockholm County with a 73% response rate. One and a half percent of respondents reported hypersensitivity to electric or magnetic fields. Prevalence was highest among women and in the 60- to 69-year age group. The hypersensitive group reported all symptoms, allergies, and other hypersensitivities, as well as being disturbed by various home factors, to a significantly greater extent than other respondents. No specific symptom profile distinguished the hypersensitive group from other respondents.
Unknown authors · 2002
Hypersensitivity to EMFs has been reported for nearly 20 years but the literature remains very limited. Nearly all literature concerns a dermatological syndrome with subjective symptoms such as itching and burning that appear after working with video display units and decrease during absence from work. Case-control studies and limited double-blind trials have not found a clear relationship between this syndrome and EMF exposure. A general syndrome with more general symptoms has been rarely described and appears to have a worse prognosis. The symptoms are mainly neurasthenic and nonspecific, overlapping with multiple chemical sensitivity and chronic fatigue, yet no valid etiological studies have been published for this general syndrome.
Unknown authors · 2002
Researchers reported the results of a telephone survey among a sample of 2,072 Californians. Being allergic or very sensitive to electrical devices was reported by 68 subjects, giving an adjusted prevalence of 3.2%. The strongest predictor of reporting hypersensitivity was a doctor-diagnosed environmental illness or multiple chemical sensitivity. Risk perception from hair dryers was most associated with self-reporting, but risk perception alone did not explain the characteristics.
Unknown authors · 2002
Researchers sent a questionnaire to 350 patients registered with electrical sensitivity at a Swedish hospital from 1980 to 1998, achieving a 73% response rate. The study included 50 respondents with hypersensitivity to electricity (38% men, 62% women) and 200 with VDT-related skin symptoms (21.5% men, 78.5% women). Patients with hypersensitivity to electricity were more often not gainfully employed (38% vs 17%) and their medical prognosis did not improve over time, unlike the VDT group.
Ozturan O, Erdem T, Miman MC, Kalcioglu MT, Oncel S. · 2002
Researchers exposed 30 volunteers with normal hearing to mobile telephone electromagnetic fields for 10 minutes and measured evoked otoacoustic emissions before and after exposure. No measurable change in evoked otoacoustic emissions was detected, and none of the volunteers reported a deterioration in hearing. The researchers concluded that a 10-minute exposure had no effect on hearing at outer ear, middle ear, and cochlear levels.
Hietanen M, Hämäläinen A-M, Husman T. · 2002
The study tested the hypothesis that hypersensitive persons perceive symptoms from RF fields using double blind provocation experiments. Twenty volunteers who reported sensitivity to cellular phones participated. Exposure sources were one analogue NMT phone at 900 MHz and two digital GSM phones at 900 and 1800 MHz. Each test session lasted 30 minutes with three or four sessions in random order per day. More symptoms were reported during sham exposure than during real exposure, and no subject could distinguish real from sham exposure.
Santini R, Santini P, Danze JM, Le Ruz P, Seigne M. · 2002
Researchers conducted a questionnaire survey of 530 people, including 270 men and 260 women, living near or far from cellular phone base stations to assess 18 non-specific health symptoms. Complaint frequencies increased significantly (p < 0.05) for people living within 300 meters for tiredness, within 200 meters for headache, sleep disturbance, and discomfort, and within 100 meters for irritability, depression, loss of memory, dizziness, and libido decrease compared to those living beyond 300 meters or not exposed. Women reported headache, nausea, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, depression, discomfort, and visual perturbations significantly more often than men (p < 0.05).
Kompis M, Hausler R. · 2002
Researchers surveyed six BAHA Compact users who used digital cellular phones to compare their experience with an earlier study of BAHA Classic 300 users. Four patients reported hearing no noise associated with digital cellular phone use. Two patients reported hearing quiet sounds only when they were on the telephone, not when others nearby used a digital cellular phone.
Kimata H. · 2002
Microwave radiation from mobile phones enhanced skin wheal responses induced by house dust mite and Japanese cedar pollen but had no effect on histamine-induced wheal responses in patients with atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome. Microwave radiation also increased plasma levels of substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in these patients. The researchers concluded that microwave radiation may enhance allergen-induced wheal responses in association with the release of SP and VIP.
Hocking B, Westerman R. · 2002
Researchers reported a case of a 34-year-old journalist who experienced symptoms linked to mobile phone use. She agreed to a provocation study with her phone. Current perception threshold testing before and after exposure showed marked changes in the C-fibre nerves of the affected area compared with the opposite side. The case is supportive of a neurological basis for some cases of dysaesthesiae associated with mobile phone use.
Frick U, Rehm J, Eichhammer P. · 2002
A survey with random variation of three cognitive factors was performed to investigate risk perception, somatization, and self report of complaints related to electromagnetic fields. Age had no significant linear effect on EMF-related complaints. EMF-related complaints were reported more by females and people with higher somatization tendency.
Mueller CH, Krueger H, Schierz C · 2002
This double-blind laboratory experiment tested whether people can perceive a 50 Hz electric and magnetic field at 100 V/m and 6 μT, and whether self-reported electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is related to that ability. A total of 63 volunteers, 49 with self-reported EHS and 14 controls, each judged 10 sham and 10 exposed two-minute blocks in randomized order. Seven of the 63 subjects reached a statistically significant result, but there was no relevant difference between self-reported EHS subjects and controls in perception success rate or in the number and types of symptoms reported.
Sandstrom M, Wilen J, Oftedal G, Hansson Mild K · 2001
Researchers conducted an epidemiological investigation including 6379 GSM users and 5613 NMT 900 users in Sweden, and 2500 from each category in Norway. The adjusted odds ratio did not indicate any increased risk for symptoms for GSM users compared with NMT 900 users. However, a statistically significant lower risk for sensations of warmth on the ear was observed for GSM users compared with NMT 900 users. A statistically significant association was found between calling time or number of calls per day and the prevalence of warmth behind or around the ear, headaches, and fatigue.
Koivisto M et al. · 2001
Researchers studied the influence of pulsed radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from digital GSM mobile phones (902 MHz, 217 Hz pulse modulation) on subjective symptoms in healthy subjects using two single-blind experiments. The results did not reveal any differences between exposure and non-exposure conditions. Exposure durations were about 60 minutes in Experiment 1 and 30 minutes in Experiment 2. Subjects rated symptoms including headache, dizziness, fatigue, itching or tingling of the skin, redness on the skin, and sensations of warmth on the skin.
Westermark A, Wisten A. · 2001
The study aimed to investigate whether miniplate osteosynthesis and cellular phone create disturbance of the infraorbital nerve. Researchers measured electric current on the plate surface under the magnetic field between the phone antenna and the metal plate. The highest currents measured were 141 mV in air and 21 mV in saline. The findings suggested a possible correlation between the miniplate near the infraorbital nerve and patient dysesthesia under cellular phone energy.
Santini R et al. · 2001
Researchers conducted a questionnaire survey of 161 students and workers at a French engineering school about symptoms during digital cellular phone use. Users of 1800-MHz phones reported significantly more concentration difficulties than users of 900-MHz phones. Women using cellular phones complained of sleep disturbance significantly more often than men. Using both cellular phones and VDT significantly increased concentration difficulties. Longer daily calling duration and more calls per day were associated with more ear discomfort, warmth, and pricking.
Hocking B. · 2001
The article aims to inform professionals about possible health effects from RFR overexposure and the clinical approach to cases. It provides a clinical approach integrating patient symptoms and exposure circumstances. Emergency treatment and ongoing care are outlined along with sources of expert advice.
Hocking B · 2001
The paper describes early reports of microwave sickness from Eastern Europe and notes Western scepticism about them. It also considers recent reports by Western specialists and a possible neurological basis for the condition. The paper concludes that microwave sickness is a medical entity that should be recognized as a possible risk for radiofrequency radiation workers.
Lyskov E, Sandström M, Mild KH · 2001
Researchers investigated possible neurophysiological effects of an intermittent 15 sec on/off cycle, 60 Hz, 10 μT magnetic field on patients with perceived electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) and control subjects during rest and a mental arithmetic task. Magnetic field exposure did not affect autonomic system or electroencephalographic variables in either group. EHS patients and controls showed significant differences in heart rate, heart rate spectrum ratio, and electrodermal activity, while EEG characteristics did not differ between groups.
Schilling CJ · 2000
The study investigated effects of exposure to very high frequency radiofrequency radiation on six antenna engineers in two separate incidents. The first incident occurred in 1995 and the second in 1996. Six men were likely accidentally exposed to high levels of VHF radiofrequency radiation at 100 MHz while working on transmission masts, with four men in one incident and two in another. They experienced symptoms and signs including headache, paresthesiae, diarrhea, malaise, and lassitude. The condition of four men, two from each incident likely to have had the highest exposure, showed no significant improvement.
Reeves GI · 2000
Researchers reviewed medical records of 34 patients with confirmed RFR overexposure exceeding permitted limits to detect clinical or laboratory alterations correlated with power density or power density times exposure time. A sensation of warmth was positively associated with power density, while a negative correlation was observed between an abnormal tissue destruction screen and power density. Sophisticated neurological tests in 23 patients and extensive psychometric and psychological exams in 30 patients revealed no neurological or ophthalmologic findings attributable to RFR.
Oftedal G, Wilen J, Sandstrom M, Mild KH · 2000
Thirty-one percent of Norwegian respondents and 13% of Swedish respondents reported at least one symptom associated with mobile phone use. The most common symptoms were sensations of warmth on or behind the ear, burning sensations in the facial skin, and headaches. Most symptoms began during or within half an hour after the call and lasted for up to two hours. Relatively few participants consulted a physician or took sick leave, but about 45% of those with symptoms took steps to reduce them, and the authors concluded that the results suggest awareness of the symptoms but not necessarily a serious health problem.
Kompis M, Negri S, Hausler R. · 2000
The study aimed to investigate electromagnetic interference of bone-anchored hearing aids by cellular phones. In a survey of 13 patients with experience of digital cellular phones, 11 reported hearing annoying noises and no other sensations such as dizziness were described. A case report described a woman who experienced dizziness, a loud buzzing sound, and head pressure while examining a digital mobile phone, and a subsequent experiment reproduced the buzzing as electromagnetic interference between the BAHA and digital cellular phones. Seventeen adult BAHA users from the clinic participated in a subsequent survey.
Hocking B, Westerman R · 2000
Fry TL, Schlegel RE, Grant H · 2000
Researchers measured hearing aid interference across a range of CDMA phone power levels using a frequency analyzer and several hearing aids and phones. As phone power increased, interference rose proportionally in a linear region until the hearing aid saturated, after which further power increases reduced or did not change interference. The interference data were combined with a previous study to assess effects on speech intelligibility and annoyance. Power reduction substantially improved interference for hearing aids with poor radiofrequency immunity, while high-immunity aids maintained low interference even at high power.
