Hochfrequente elektromagnetische Wellen und unspezifische Gesundheitsbeschwerden: eine Literaturübersicht

Abstract

This is an update of a previous systematic review on the association between radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure and health-related quality of life that included studies published before August 2007 [1]. Since then, nine randomized trials addressed short-term exposures from close-to-body RF-EMF sources such as mobile phones, and two observational studies investigated the effects of mobile phone use on health-related quality of life. Six randomized trials addressed short-term far-field exposure arising, for instance, from mobile phone base stations, and eight studies evaluated the effects of environmental far-field RF-EMF exposure. In most of the randomized trials, no exposure-response association was observed. The sporadically reported associations did not show a consistent pattern regarding the type of symptoms or the direction of the effects (increase/decrease). Similarly, most of the recent observational studies did not show associations between RF-EMF exposure and non-specific symptoms. However, the exposure gradients were small and possible exposure misclassification is a limitation of these studies. Longitudinal studies as well as studies in children and adolescents are scarce. In summary, recent research did not indicate health-related quality of life to be affected by RF-EMF exposure in our everyday environment. Furthermore, none of the studies showed that individuals with self-reported electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) were more susceptible to RF-EMF than the rest of the population. Nevertheless, the rapid technological development and anticipated increase in exposure levels warrant the conduct of further longitudinal studies. Due to the widespread use of wireless communication technologies potential adverse health effects would have major public health consequences.

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

“…It was also observed that methodological quality was an important component for the strength of the associations, since studies with a higher risk of bias, mainly regarding exposure assessment and sample selection, reported more significant associations. More recent studies which tend to employ advanced exposure characterization methods did not suggest a significant effect; this is in agreement with the findings of Röösli and Hug (2011). Studies on perceived exposure showed generally stronger symptomatic effects and more consistent patterns, indicating an association with concentration problems and headache, while most of them yielded nonsignificant or contradictory results for sleep problems, dizziness, fatigue-related symptoms and tinnitus.…”

“…The estimated prevalence of these nonspecific physical symptoms (NSPS) ranges between 3.5% and 10% (Blettner et al, 2009;Schreier et al, 2006;Schrottner and Leitgeb, 2008). Although evidence that could support a causal association between exposure and outcome seems to be insufficient and inconsistent (Röösli and Hug, 2011;Röösli et al, 2010;Rubin et al, 2009), a possible effect of higher exposure levels cannot be ruled out yet because of methodological obstacles, primarily regarding bias related to exposure assessment and study design (Röösli, 2008;Röösli et al, 2010). Systematic reviews focusing mainly on experimental evidence suggest rather a nocebo effect which could imply an underlying psychological mechanism that leads to physiological responses and subsequent symptoms (Rubin et al, 2009).…”

A follow-up study of the association between mobile phone use and symptoms of ill health

“…A number of studies that evaluated acute reactions of the human body to exposure to the radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) also reported that no significant correlations were found between RF-EMF and headache or other symptoms [9-11]. In contrast to experimental study results evaluating the effects of short-term RF-EMF exposure, observational studies evaluating the health effects of low-level and long-term exposure to RF-EMF have tended to report a significant correlation between the use of mobile phones and adverse health effects [5,6,12].…”

Metabolic and Genetic Screening of Electromagnetic Hypersensitive Subjects as a Feasible Tool for Diagnostics and Intervention

“…Many efforts have been made to determine if a causal relationship between exposure to EMFs and claimed health symptoms does exist and to identify biologically plausible mechanisms underlying this syndrome (for review, see [2, 6, 7]). Despite the growing wealth of evidences gathered both in vitro and in vivo on animal models, data from human case-control and double-blind trials attempting to correlate EMFs exposure and claimed symptoms, resulted so far controversial [8–10].…”