Effects of personalised exposure on self-rated electromagnetic hypersensitivity and sensibility – A double-blind randomised controlled trial

Moorselaar, Imke van; Slottje, Pauline; Heller, Pia; Strien, Rob van; Kromhout, Hans; Murbach, Manuel; Kuster, Niels; Vermeulen, Roel; Huss, Anke

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.11.031

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…These findings correspond to those reported by Eltiti et al [] and Wallace et al [], who found that IEI‐EMF participants had a greater symptomatic response in an initial open‐label active trial compared to sham, but no difference in subsequent double‐blind trials. Likewise, in a study similar to the present investigation, van Moorselaar et al [] reported that IEI‐EMF participants were unable to correctly identify when they were being exposed during double‐blind testing, despite participants reacting to the exposure in an initial unblinded test. Generally, the results of the present experiment agree with the majority of previous studies, which have not found any relationship between IEI‐EMF symptoms and EMF exposure in double‐blind provocation paradigms [Rubin et al, ; Rubin et al, ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Two studies have also reported an increase in symptoms in an initial non‐blinded active exposure condition, compared to sham, but have then found no significant differences between active and sham conditions in subsequent double‐blind trials [Eltiti et al, ; Wallace et al, ]. Similarly, a recent study reported that IEI‐EMF participants were unable to correctly identify when they were being exposed under double‐blind conditions, despite an initial verification that they could detect active from sham conditions in an open‐label trial [van Moorselaar et al, ]. These findings have led many to suggest that IEI‐EMF may be the result of a nocebo response, where conscious or subconscious symptom expectation following a perceived exposure to EMF leads to the formation or detection of symptoms [Oftedal et al, ; Hillert et al, ; Landgrebe et al, ; Rubin et al, ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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IEI‐EMF provocation case studies: A novel approach to testing sensitive individuals

Verrender¹,

Loughran²,

Anderson³

et al. 2017

Bioelectromagnetics

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The etiology of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF) is controversial. While the majority of studies have indicated that there is no relationship between EMF exposure and symptoms reported by IEI-EMF sufferers, concerns about methodological issues have been raised. Addressing these concerns, the present experiment was designed as a series of individual case studies to determine whether there is a relationship between radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure and an IEI-EMF individual's self-reported symptoms. Three participants aged 44-64 were tested during a series of sham and active exposure trials (2 open-label trials; 12 randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced trials), where symptom severity and exposure detection were scored using 100 mm visual analogue scales. The RF-EMF exposure was a 902-928 MHz spread spectrum digitally modulated signal with an average radiated power output of 1 W (0.3 W/m incident power density at the participant). In the double-blind trials, no significant difference in symptom severity or exposure detection was found for any of the participants between the two conditions. Belief of exposure strongly predicted symptom severity score for all participants. Despite accounting for several possible limitations, the present experiment failed to show a relationship between RF-EMF exposure and an IEI-EMF individual's symptoms. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:132-143, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

IEI‐EMF provocation case studies: A novel approach to testing sensitive individuals

Verrender¹,

Loughran²,

Anderson³

et al. 2017

Bioelectromagnetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The subjective ratings of acute physiological responses to exposure are in accordance with earlier studies showing no relationship between RF and symptoms (van Moorselaar et al, 2017;Rubin, Hahn, Everitt, Cleare, & Wessely, 2006;Rubin, Nieto-Hernandez, & Wessely, 2010;Verrender et al, 2018). In our earlier study of long exposure to a GSM signal of 884 MHz, we observed an increase in headaches during the course of the evening (Hillert et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of evening exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by 3G mobile phones on health and night sleep EEG architecture

Löwden

Nagai

Åkerstedt

et al. 2019

Journal of Sleep Research

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Studies on sleep after exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields have shown mixed results. We investigated the effects of double‐blind radiofrequency exposure to 1,930–1,990 MHz, UMTS 3G signalling standard, time‐averaged 10 g specific absorption rate of 1.6 W kg−1 on self‐evaluated sleepiness and objective electroencephalogram architecture during sleep. Eighteen subjects aged 18–19 years underwent 3.0 hr of controlled exposure on two consecutive days 19:45–23:00 hours (including 15‐min break); active or sham prior to sleep, followed by full‐night 7.5 hr polysomnographic recordings in a sleep laboratory. In a cross‐over design, the procedure was repeated a week later with the second condition. The results for sleep electroencephalogram architecture showed no change after radiofrequency exposure in sleep stages compared with sham, but power spectrum analyses showed a reduction of activity within the slow spindle range (11.0–12.75 Hz). No differences were found for self‐evaluated health symptoms, performance on the Stroop colour word test during exposure or for sleep quality. These results confirm previous findings that radiofrequency post‐exposure in the evening has very little influence on electroencephalogram architecture but possible on spindle range activity.

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“…Future studies should therefore try to minimize the stress level through e.g. habituation sessions or other approaches such as at-home testing [91].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodological limitations in experimental studies on symptom development in individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) – a systematic review

2019

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BackgroundHypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMF) is a controversial condition. While individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) claim to experience health complaints upon EMF exposure, many experimental studies have found no convincing evidence for a physical relation. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate methodological limitations in experimental studies on symptom development in IEI-EMF individuals that might have fostered false positive or false negative results. Furthermore, we compared the profiles of these limitations between studies with positive and negative results.MethodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guided the methodological conduct and reporting. Eligible were blinded experimental studies that exposed individuals with IEI-EMF to different EMF exposure levels and queried the development of symptoms during or after each exposure trial. Strengths and limitations in design, conduct and analysis of individual studies were assessed using a customized rating tool.ResultsTwenty-eight studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. In many studies, both with positive and negative results, we identified methodological limitations that might have either fostered false or masked real effects of exposure. The most common limitations were related to the selection of study participants, the counterbalancing of the exposure sequence and the effectiveness of blinding. Many studies further lacked statistical power estimates. Methodically sound studies indicated that an effect of exposure is unlikely.ConclusionOverall, the evidence points towards no effect of exposure. If physical effects exist, previous findings suggest that they must be very weak or affect only few individuals with IEI-EMF. Given the evidence that the nocebo effect or medical/mental disorders may explain the symptoms in many individuals with IEI-EMF, additional research is required to identify the various factors that may be important for developing IEI-EMF and for provoking the symptoms. We recommend the identification of subgroups and exploring IEI-EMF in the context of other idiopathic environmental intolerances. If further experimental studies are conducted, they should preferably be performed at the individual level. In particular, to increase the likelihood of detecting hypersensitive individuals, if they exist, we encourage researchers to achieve a high credibility of the results by minimizing sources of risk of bias and imprecision.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-019-0519-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Effects of personalised exposure on self-rated electromagnetic hypersensitivity and sensibility – A double-blind randomised controlled trial

Cited by 24 publications

References 19 publications

IEI‐EMF provocation case studies: A novel approach to testing sensitive individuals

IEI‐EMF provocation case studies: A novel approach to testing sensitive individuals

Effects of evening exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by 3G mobile phones on health and night sleep EEG architecture

Methodological limitations in experimental studies on symptom development in individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) – a systematic review

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