Public perception of risk concerning celltowers and mobile phones

The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields exposure on tinnitus, migraine and non-specific symptoms in the general and working population: A protocol for a systematic review on human observational studies

BACKGROUND

Applications emitting radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF; 100 kHz to 300 GHz) are widely used for communication (e.g. mobile phones), in medicine (diathermy) and in industry (RF heaters). Concern has been raised that RF-EMF exposure affects health related quality of life, because a part of the population reports to experience a variety of symptoms related to low exposure levels below regulatory limits.

OBJECTIVES

To systematically review the effects of longer-term or repeated local and whole human body RF-EMF exposure on the occurrence of symptoms evaluating migraine, tinnitus, headaches, sleep disturbances and composite symptom scores as primary outcomes.

METHODS

We will follow the WHO handbook for guideline development. For the development of the systematic review protocol we considered handbook for conducting systematic reviews for health effects evaluations from the National Toxicology Program-Office of Health Assessment and Translation (NTP-OHAT) and COSTER (Recommendations for the conduct of systematic reviews in toxicology and environmental health research).

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Peer-reviewed epidemiological studies in the general population or workers aiming to investigate the association between local or whole-body RF-EMF exposure for at least one week and symptoms are eligible for inclusion. Only cohort, case-control and panel studies will be included.

INFORMATION SOURCES

We will search the scientific literature databases Medline, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos and Embase, using a predefined search strategy. This search will be supplemented by a search in the EMF-Portal and checks of reference lists of relevant papers and reviews.

STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHOD

Data from included papers will be extracted according to predefined forms. Findings will be summarized in tables, graphical displays and in a narrative synthesis of the available evidence, complemented with meta-analyses. We will separately review effects of local, far field and occupational exposure.

RISK OF BIAS

The internal validity of included studies will be assessed using the NTP-OHAT Risk of Bias Rating Tool for Human and Animal Studies, elaborated to observational RF-EMF studies.

EVIDENCE APPRAISAL

To rate certainty of the evidence, we will use the OHAT GRADE-based approach for epidemiological studies.

FRAMEWORK AND FUNDING

This protocol concerns one of the ten different systematic reviews considered in a larger systematic review of the World Health Organization to assess potential health effects of exposure to RF-EMF in the general and working population.

REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42021239432.

Subjective symptoms related to GSM radiation from mobile phone base stations: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

We performed a re-analysis of the data from Navarro et al (2003) in which health symptoms related to microwave exposure from mobile phone base stations (BSs) were explored, including data obtained in a retrospective inquiry about fear of exposure from BSs.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

La Ñora (Murcia), Spain.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants with known illness in 2003 were subsequently disregarded: 88 participants instead of 101 (in 2003) were analysed. Since weather circumstances can influence exposure, we restricted data to measurements made under similar weather conditions.

OUTCOMES AND METHODS

A statistical method indifferent to the assumption of normality was employed: namely, binary logistic regression for modelling a binary response (eg, suffering fatigue (1) or not (0)), and so exposure was introduced as a predictor variable. This analysis was carried out on a regular basis and bootstrapping (95% percentile method) was used to provide more accurate CIs.

RESULTS

The symptoms most related to exposure were lack of appetite (OR=1.58, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.03); lack of concentration (OR=1.54, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.89); irritability (OR=1.51, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.85); and trouble sleeping (OR=1.49, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.84). Changes in -2 log likelihood showed similar results. Concerns about the BSs were strongly related with trouble sleeping (OR =3.12, 95% CI 1.10 to 8.86). The exposure variable remained statistically significant in the multivariate analysis. The bootstrapped values were similar to asymptotic CIs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms our preliminary results. We observed that the incidence of most of the symptoms was related to exposure levels-independently of the demographic variables and some possible risk factors. Concerns about adverse effects from exposure, despite being strongly related with sleep disturbances, do not influence the direct association between exposure and sleep.

When precaution creates misunderstandings: the unintended effects of precautionary information on perceived risks, the EMF case

In the past decade, growing public concern about novel technologies with uncertain potential long-term impacts on the environment and human health has moved risk policies toward a more precautionary approach. Focusing on mobile telephony, the effects of precautionary information on risk perception were analyzed. A pooled multinational experimental study based on a 5 × 2 × 2 factorial design was conducted in nine countries. The first factor refers to whether or not information on different types of precautionary measures was present, the second factor to the framing of the precautionary information, and the third factor to the order in which cell phones and base stations were rated by the study participants. The data analysis on the country level indicates different effects. The main hypothesis that informing about precautionary measures results in increased risk perceptions found only partial support in the data. The effects are weaker, both in terms of the effect size and the frequency of significant effects, across the various precautionary information formats used in the experiment. Nevertheless, our findings do not support the assumption that informing people about implemented precautionary measures will decrease public concerns.

Non-specific physical symptoms and electromagnetic field exposure in the general population: can we get more specific? A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

A systematic review of observational studies was performed to address the strength of evidence for an association between actual and perceived exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS) in the general population. To gain more insight into the magnitude of a possible association, meta-analyses were conducted.

METHODS

Literature databases Medline, Embase, SciSearch, PsychInfo, Psyndex and Biosis and additional bibliographic sources such as reference sections of key publications were searched for the detection of studies published between January 2000 and April 2011.

RESULTS

Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria. Qualitative assessment of the epidemiological evidence showed either no association between symptoms and higher EMF exposure or contradictory results. To strengthen our conclusions, random effects meta-analyses were performed, which produced the following results for the association with actual EMF; for symptom severity: Headache odds ratio (OR)=1.65; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.88-3.08, concentration problems OR=1.28; 95% CI=0.56-2.94, fatigue-related problems OR=1.15; 95% CI=0.59-2.27, dizziness-related problems OR=1.38; 95% CI=0.92-2.07. For symptom frequency: headache OR=1.01; 95% CI=0.66-1.53, fatigue OR=1.12; 95% CI=0.60-2.07 and sleep problems OR=1.18; 95% CI=0.80-1.74. Associations between perceived exposure and NSPS were more consistently observed but a meta-analysis was not performed due to considerable heterogeneity between the studies.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review and meta-analysis finds no evidence for a direct association between frequency and severity of NSPS and higher levels of EMF exposure. An association with perceived exposure seems to exist, but evidence is still limited because of differences in conceptualization and assessment methods.

Cell phones and health concerns: impact of knowledge and voluntary precautionary recommendations

The article explores how voluntary precautionary recommendations for cell phone usage influence people's health concerns and behavior. An experimental study using a sample of Swiss citizens (N=408) was conducted. Three different versions of a newly developed booklet, which focused on common misconceptions in regard to mobile communication, and an existing booklet were tested. The experimental design addressed questions of the potential effects of knowledge, precautionary recommendations, and sender identity on health concerns and transfer of the proposed recommendations. Participants' perceptions were measured three times: immediately before and after reading the booklet, and two weeks later. The reading of the booklets increased participants' knowledge considerably and led to perceptual changes. In regard to cell phones, health concerns increased after the reading and stayed at a higher level even after two weeks. The negative perception of base stations, in contrast, tended to decrease. Neither the identity of the sender nor the omission of precautionary recommendations had significant effects on health concerns. Provision of specific recommendations enhanced readers' behavioral changes. Confrontation with information per se, and not precautionary recommendations, influenced the public's health concerns. These changes should not prevent the provision of precautionary recommendations because, in the face of scientific uncertainty, these are the only means through which to enable users to make informed decisions.

Exposure to mobile telecommunication networks assessed using personal dosimetry and well-being in children and adolescents: the German MobilEe-study

BACKGROUND

Despite the increase of mobile phone use in the last decade and the growing concern whether mobile telecommunication networks adversely affect health and well-being, only few studies have been published that focussed on children and adolescents. Especially children and adolescents are important in the discussion of adverse health effects because of their possibly higher vulnerability to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.

METHODS

We investigated a possible association between exposure to mobile telecommunication networks and well-being in children and adolescents using personal dosimetry. A population-based sample of 1.498 children and 1.524 adolescents was assembled for the study (response 52%). Participants were randomly selected from the population registries of four Bavarian (South of Germany) cities and towns with different population sizes. During a Computer Assisted Personal Interview data on participants' well-being, socio-demographic characteristics and potential confounder were collected. Acute symptoms were assessed three times during the study day (morning, noon, evening).Using a dosimeter (ESM-140 Maschek Electronics), we obtained an exposure profile over 24 hours for three mobile phone frequency ranges (measurement interval 1 second, limit of determination 0.05 V/m) for each of the participants. Exposure levels over waking hours were summed up and expressed as mean percentage of the ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) reference level.

RESULTS

In comparison to non-participants, parents and adolescents with a higher level of education who possessed a mobile phone and were interested in the topic of possible adverse health effects caused by mobile telecommunication network frequencies were more willing to participate in the study. The median exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields of children and adolescents was 0.18% and 0.19% of the ICNIRP reference level respectively.

CONCLUSION

In comparison to previous studies this is one of the first to assess the individual level of exposure to mobile telecommunication networks using personal dosimetry, enabling objective assessment of exposure from all sources and longer measurement periods. In total, personal dosimetry was proofed to be a well accepted tool to study exposure to mobile phone frequencies in epidemiologic studies including health effects on children and adolescents.

Personal exposure to mobile phone frequencies and well-being in adults: a cross-sectional study based on dosimetry

The use of mobile phone telecommunication has increased in recent years. In parallel, there is growing concern about possible adverse health effects of cellular phone networks. We used personal dosimetry to investigate the association between exposure to mobile phone frequencies and well-being in adults. A random population-based sample of 329 adults living in four different Bavarian towns was assembled for the study. Using a dosimeter (ESM-140 Maschek Electronics), we obtained an exposure profile over 24 h for three mobile phone frequency ranges (measurement interval 1 s, limit of determination 0.05 V/m). Exposure levels over waking hours were totalled and expressed as mean percentage of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) reference level. Each participant reported acute symptoms in a day-long diary. Data on five groups of chronic symptoms and potential confounders were assessed during an interview. The overall exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic fields was markedly below the ICNIRP reference level. We did not find any statistically significant association between the exposure and chronic symptoms or between the exposure and acute symptoms. Larger studies using mobile phone dosimetry are warranted to confirm these findings.