Are media warnings about the adverse health effects of modern life self-fulfilling? An experimental study on idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF)

Witthöft, Michael; Rubin, G. James

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.12.002

Cited by 138 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…That health concern increased and symptomatic experiences were maintained by participants who viewed further internet material putting forward pathophysiological mechanisms for symptom reporting indicates that biological explanations, available through the media to people living in the vicinity of wind farms, may be perpetuating both health concerns and symptom reports. Our results accord with experimental research indicating that nocebo responses to media health warnings about perceived environmental hazards may be providing a pathway for medically unexplained symptom presentations attributed to environmental agents (Winters et al, 2003;Witthoft and Rubin, 2013;Crichton et al, 2014c). Findings are also consistent with epidemiological evidence showing that complaints about the health effects of wind farm sound cluster in areas where residents are exposed to local negative news stories and targeted anti-wind farm publicity (Chapman et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Health complaints and wind turbines: The efficacy of explaining the nocebo response to reduce symptom reporting

Crichton

Petrie

2015

Environmental Research

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Health complaints and wind turbines: The efficacy of explaining the nocebo response to reduce symptom reporting

Crichton

Petrie

2015

Environmental Research

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“…Bailer et al [27] found that the association between worries and doctor consultations was explained by IEI-complaints, indicating that increased worries could constitute a risk factor for the development of environmental intolerances. This is in line with the conclusions of a more recent study which showed that NSPS attributed to EMF are more likely to occur in people with higher pre-existing worry levels [30]. However, it is still underinvestigated in the general population to what extent people's MHW are associated with the tendency to perceive themselves as more vulnerable to environmental stressors and what this could indicate in relation to NSPS and other health outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In addition, they may be a contributing factor in the development of environmental sensitivities, together with other previously documented predisposing factors such worse perceived health, higher distress levels, low work satisfaction and negative affect [27,30,49,50], while cognitive as well as behavioral aspects seem to have a prominent role [27,30]. Considering the large heterogeneity within environmentally sensitive groups in terms of physiological reactions and attributed sources [51,52] it should not be ruled out that within the broad environmental sensitivity spectrum, different competing or complementary explanatory mechanisms might apply [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The relationship of modern health worries to non-specific physical symptoms and perceived environmental sensitivity: A study combining self-reported and general practice data

Baliatsas

Kamp

Hooiveld

et al. 2015

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oObjective: The present study investigates the association of modern health worries (MHW) with self-reported as well as general practitioner (GP)-registered non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS), medication use, alternative therapy consultations, sleep quality and quality of life. The interrelation between MHW, general environmental sensitivity and the aforementioned outcomes is also explored. Methods: Self-reported questionnaires and data from electronic medical records from 21 general practices in The Netherlands were combined in a sample of 5933 adult participants. Results: The majority of the participants reported increased worries about potential health effects from environmental exposures. The highest worry scores were reported by people who perceived themselves as more vulnerable to environmental stressors. After adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics and diagnosed psychiatric morbidity, higher MHW were significantly associated with increased self-reported prevalence and duration of NSPS, symptom-related healthcare utilization, GP-registered NSPS, alternative therapy consultations and lower sleep quality and quality of life. These associations were statistically mediated by perceived environmental sensitivity. No association was observed between worries and GP-registered medication prescriptions. Conclusion: Modern health worries are very common in the general population. They are associated with self-reported as well as clinically defined NSPS and as such might play a key role in the process of developing and maintaining environmental sensitivities and related symptoms. A large cross-cultural longitudinal study would help to determine important aspects such as temporal precedence and stability of MHW and the relevant psychosocial context within which symptomatic conditions occur.

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“…Due to the influence that baseline anxiety has had on previous experimental studies in nocebo research (e.g., [27]), we carried out a post hoc analysis using logistic regression, controlling for the number of baseline symptoms to assess the interaction between the leaflets participants were randomized to receive and baseline anxiety to see if this influenced the odds of participants attributing any symptom to the tablet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positively Framed Risk Information in Patient Information Leaflets Reduces Side Effect Reporting: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Webster

Weinman

Rubin

2018

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

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Background Many medication side effects are the result of a psychologically mediated "nocebo effect," triggered by negative expectations. Purpose This study investigated if changing how side effect information is framed in patient information leaflets (PILs) reduces symptom reporting. Methods A total of 203 healthy volunteers aged 18 or over were recruited from December 1, 2015 to December 5, 2016 into a double-blind randomized controlled trial carried out at the Clinical Research Facility at King's College Hospital. King's Clinical Trial Unit randomized participants (stratified by gender) to receive a PIL for "a well-known tablet available without prescription" that used standard side effect risk information (e.g., "Common, 1 in 10 people will be affected") or positively framed wording (e.g., "Uncommon, 90% of people will not be affected"). After reading their PIL, participants took the tablet (a placebo) and completed symptom reports 1 hr later. The main outcomes included the number of participants who attributed symptoms to the tablet, and the number and severity of attributed symptoms. Results A total of 101 participants were assigned the standard PIL and 102 the positive framed PIL. Significantly more standard PIL participants attributed symptoms to the tablet (n = 55, 54.5%) compared to positively framed PIL participants (n = 40, 39.2%), odds ratio (OR) = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46-0.93. Positive framing did not significantly reduce the total number (p = .148) or severity (p = .149) of symptoms attributed to the tablet. Conclusion Positive framing reduced the likelihood of participants attributing nocebo-induced side effects to the tablet. Work is needed to assess the effectiveness in a patient population. Clinical Trial information ISRCTN47470030

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Are media warnings about the adverse health effects of modern life self-fulfilling? An experimental study on idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF)

Cited by 138 publications

References 35 publications

Health complaints and wind turbines: The efficacy of explaining the nocebo response to reduce symptom reporting

Health complaints and wind turbines: The efficacy of explaining the nocebo response to reduce symptom reporting

The relationship of modern health worries to non-specific physical symptoms and perceived environmental sensitivity: A study combining self-reported and general practice data

Positively Framed Risk Information in Patient Information Leaflets Reduces Side Effect Reporting: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

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