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Alassiri M, Alanazi A, Aldera H, Alqahtani SA, Alraddadi AS, Alberreet MS, Alhussaini AI, Alotaibi Y, Alkhateeb MA, Shatoor AS. Exposure to cell phones reduces heart rate variability in both normal-weight and obese normotensive medical students. Explore (NY) 2020; 16:264-270. [PMID: 32249199 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2020.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We investigated and compared the effect of the radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EM) emitted by a cell phone on the electrocardiogram and heart rate variability (HRV) of normotensive normal-weight and obese medical students. METHOD Twenty medical student volunteers, normal weight (age = 23 ± 2, BMI = 23.05 ± 1.72) or obese (age = 24 ± 2, BMI = 32.39 ± 4.78), were exposed to a cell phone (1) close to the heart in silent mode, no ringing or vibrating; (2) close to the heart in ring and vibration mode; (3) next to the ear (brain) while listening; and (4) next to the ear while listening and speaking. RESULTS The average basal HR of obese students significantly increased, while the PR interval; time domains, including standard deviation (SD) of all normal R-R intervals (SDNN), mean of the SD of all normal R-R intervals (SDNNi), SD of the average of normal R-R intervals (SDANN), and percentage of R-R intervals at least 50 ms different from the previous interval (pNN50); and high-power frequency (HF) decreased. The LF/HF ratio also significantly increased. The SDNN, SDNNi, SDANN, pNN50, and HF levels significantly decreased and the LF/HF significantly increased in normal-weight and obese individuals only when the phone was near the apex of the heart in ring and vibration mode. All changes were more profound in obese students. CONCLUSION Keeping the phone in a chest pocket reduced the HRV of normal-weight and obese medical students and exaggerated the effect of obesity on sympathetic activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Alassiri
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Health Professions, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Asma Alanazi
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain Aldera
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sultan A Alqahtani
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulrahman S Alraddadi
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Meshal S Alberreet
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah I Alhussaini
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yousef Alotaibi
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mahmoud A Alkhateeb
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah S Shatoor
- College Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiology Section, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
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