Subjective symptoms among mobile phone users—A consequence of absorption of radiofrequency fields?

Abstract

In a previous epidemiological study, where we studied the prevalence of subjective symptoms among mobile phone (MP) users, we found as an interesting side finding that the prevalence of many of the subjective symptoms increased with increasing calling time and number of calls per day. In this extrapolative study, we have selected 2402 people from the epidemiological study who used any of the four most common GSM MP. We used the information about the prevalence of symptoms, calling time per day, and number of calls per day and combined it with measurements of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). We defined three volumes in the head and measured the maximum SAR averaged over a cube of 1 g tissue (SAR(1g)) in each volume. Two new exposure parameters Specific Absorption per Day (SAD) and Specific Absorption per Call (SAC) have been devised and are obtained as combinations of SAR, calling time per day, and number of calls per day, respectively. The results indicates that SAR values >0.5 W/kg may be an important factor for the prevalence of some of the symptoms, especially in combination with long calling times per day.

The risk of subjective symptoms in mobile phone users in Poland – An epidemiological study

“…The term "good" was the highest rating for respondents' health condition in the Nordic countries, Australia and Arabia, while in our study 22% of the people rated their health as very good and 59% as good. Norway [7] (N = 2828)…”

“…In addition to headaches, the users of mobile phones reported fatigue and general discomfort, nausea, impaired thermoregulation [5]. Results of the questionnaire on subjective complaints of the mobile phone users conducted in Sweden, Norway, England, USA, New Zealand, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Australia have shown that headache was the most frequently observed symptom [4,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. A study in Australia showed that headache, including migraine and cluster headache, appeared during or shortly after a call was ended, and often intensified during the day.…”

“…The authors conclude that the "regular and long term use of microwave devices, especially mobile phones, can have a negative impact upon biological system, especially on brain", because the EMF source is held very close to the continued until the evening or till the next day [8]. Some authors have confirmed a significant relationship between the frequency of headache and the use of a mobile phone [7,13], while others have not confirmed such a relationship [14]. It occurred more frequently when using analog than digital phones [9].…”

Telefones celulares: influência nos sistemas auditivo e vestibular

“…It has been calculated that the temperature in the head increases by not more than 0.11oC5 while using a mobile phone, although a feeling of warmth may be felt in the ear during a telephone call. 12 2) non-thermal effects: these take place with no temperature change in biological tissues. These effects have not yet been fully clarified, and are the reason for many debates among scientists.…”

L'hypersensibilité à l'électricité : une approche multidisciplinaire pour un problème multifactoriel. Revue de la littérature

“…Globalement, ces études indiquent une augmentation des symptômes subjectifs (dont des sensations de chaleur au niveau de l'oreille ou de la face, céphalées, inconfort, vertiges, difficultés de concentration, fatigue) avec l'augmentation du temps d'appel et du nombre d'appels par jour (Al-Khaiwi et Meo, 2004 ;Chia, et al, 2000 ;Hocking, 1998 ;Oftedal et al, 2000 ;Sandström et al, 2001 ;Santini et al, 2001a ;Wilen et al, 2003). Ces symptômes ont été mis en relation avec les taux d'absorption spécifique (Wilen et al, 2003) et expliqués hypothétiquement par une stimulation vestibulaire (Cox et Luxton, 2000). Des différen-ces sont parfois observées en fonction du type de téléphone mobile utilisé (900 MHz, 1800 MHz, numérique vs analogique).…”