ID Number		1120
Study Type		Human / Provocation
Model		900, 1800 MHz (GSM), 2 GHz (UMTS), 400 MHz (Tetra) exposure to self-reported hypersensitive individuals and analysis of subjective complaints.
Details		Residents living near mobile phone base stations were assessed by questionnaire to see if constant low level RF emissions can elicit subjective symptoms. In a pilot study in the UK, approximately 4% of the UK population surveyed claimed some hypersensitivity to RF. A higher severity of general symptoms (neurovegetative, skin, auditory, headache, cardiorespiratory, cold related, locomotor, allergy related) was associated with self-identified EMF hypersensitive individuals than controls. The questionnaire included development of a scale to provide a comparable index of symptom type and intensity among hypersensitive individuals. In a follow-on lab based study, volunteers (n = 56, self reported hypersensitive + 120 control individuals) were exposed to GSM (both 900 + 1800 MHz signals simultaneously) and 2 GHz UMTS base station signals (each at 10 mW/m2) and measured for subjective endpoints. The authors report no correlation with GSM base station exposure. Although UMTS base station exposure elevated arousal in hypersensitive individuals, the authors concluded the difference was likely a consequence of the experimental design rather than the exposure itself. In a related study, volunteers (n = 496; students and workers at the University of Essex) were exposed to 900 MHz (GSM, CW, or sham exposure) for 40 minutes at an peak 10-gram SAR of 1.4 W/kg using a mobile phone exposure system and evaluated for subjective symptoms and cognitive performance. The authors report no consistent association with RF exposure. In a study of 400 MHz Tetra exposure, self-proclaimed hypersensitive subjects (n = 51) were exposed at an approximate SAR of 0.271 W/kg at the level of the head. There was no correlation with adverse health rankings during blinded exposures and sham exposures. Subjects were also not able to determine whether the RF was on or off during the testing trials. AUTHORS ABSTRACT: Wallace et al. 2010 (IEEE #5215): Background: Airwave is the new communication system currently being rolled out across the United Kingdom for the police and emergency services, based on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio Telecommunications System (TETRA). Some police officers have complained about skin rashes, nausea, headaches, and depression as a consequence of using their Airwave handsets. In addition, a small subgroup in the population self-report being sensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in general. Objectives: We conducted a randomized double-blind provocation study to establish whether short-term exposure to a TETRA base station signal has an impact on the health and well-being of individuals with self-reported electrosensitivity and of participants who served as controls. Methods: Fifty-one individuals with self-reported electrosensitivity and 132 age- and sex-matched controls participated in an open provocation test; 48 sensitive and 132 control participants went on to complete double-blind tests in a fully screened semianechoic chamber. Heart rate, skin conductance, and blood pressure readings provided objective indices of short-term physiological response. Visual analog scales and symptom scales provided subjective indices of well-being. Results: We found no differences on any measure between TETRA and sham (no signal) under double-blind conditions for either controls or electrosensitive participants, and neither group could detect the presence of a TETRA signal at rates greater than chance (50%). When conditions were not double blind, however, the self-reported electrosensitive individuals did report feeling worse and experienced more severe symptoms during TETRA compared with sham. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the adverse symptoms experienced by electrosensitive individuals are due to the belief of harm from TETRA base stations rather than to the low-level EMF exposure itself. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Eltiti et al. 2015 (IEEE #5902): Data from two previous studies were aggregated to provide a statistically powerful test of whether exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced by telecommunication base stations negatively affects well-being in individuals who report idiopathic environmental illness with attribution to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) and control participants. A total of 102 IEI-EMF and 237 controls participated in open provocation trials and 88 IEI-EMF and 231 controls went on to complete double-blind trials in which they were exposed to EMFs from a base station emitting either a Global System for Mobile Communication and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System or a Terrestrial Trunked Radio Telecommunications System signal. Both experiments included a comparison sham condition. Visual analog and symptom scales measured subjective well-being. Results showed that IEI-EMF participants reported lower levels of well-being during real compared to sham exposure during open provocation, but not during double-blind trials. Additionally, participants reported lower levels of well-being during high compared to low load trials and this did not interact with radiofrequency-EMF exposure. These findings are consistent with a growing body of literature indicating there is no causal relationship between short-term exposure to EMFs and subjective well-being in members of the public whether or not they report perceived sensitivity to EMFs.
Findings		No Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		University of Essex, UK
Funding Agency		MMF, MTHR (NRPB), UK, GSM Association
Country		UNITED KINGDOM
References		Cinel, C et al. Psychosom Med, (2008) 31:345-348 Eltiti, S et al. Environ Health Persp, (2007) 115:1603-1608 Eltiti, S et al. Bioelectromagnetics, (2007) 28:137-151 Wallace, D et al. Environmental Health Perspectives., (2010) 118:735-741 Eltiti, S et al. Bioelectromagnetics., (2015) 36:96-107 Wallace, D et al. Bioelectromagnetics., (2012) 33:23-39 Fox, E et al. WHO International Workshop on Base Stations and Wireless Networks: Exposures and Health Consequences (2005: Geneva, Switzerland), (2005) :59-67
Comments		The recruitment process was performed without any blindedness - both EHS and control individuals know what is to be studies, and this could introduce bias into the answers in the questionairre. One of the most concerning issues is the proposal to simultaneously determine (within the same funded study) diagnostic criteria for electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) while at the same analyzing RF exposure for EHS in subsequent provocation studies. There is also no incremental exposure element in the lab provocation studies to perform a dose response, only a very low base station-type exposure level. A critical letter by Zinelis (2007) suggested the exposure levels in the area evaluated were ~ 1 uW/cm2 - far lower than other sites up to field strengths of 900 uW/cm2