ID Number		1585
Study Type		Epidemiology
Model		MobilEe: 900, 1800, 2100 MHz (GSM, W-CDMA) Mobile phone and base station exposure to children and adolescents and correlations with subjective symptoms.
Details		Volunteers (n = 329) from Germany were evaluated for subjective responses that correlated with environmental RF and mobile phone exposures. Volunteers were outfitted with an exposure-meter (ESM-140, Maschek Electronics) for 24 hours, placed on the arm on which they used their mobile phone. Exposure to 900, 1800, and 2450 MHz was recorded and compared to questionairre response regarding subjective symptoms (both on that day, as well as over the last 6 months prior to the study). All measured RF exposures were well below ICNIRP guidelines. The authors report no correlation between subjective responses (headache, fatigue, sleeping disorders, neurological symptoms, concentration problems) and RF exposure. The study was performed in conjunction with a study on the effects of noise on well-being. In an extention of this study, the authors evaluated children recruited from 4 Bavarian cities (n = 1484 aged 8-12 and n = 1500 aged 13-17) by questionnaire in a population based cross sectional study. The authors report 50% of children and 90% of adolescents had mobile phones, and all recorded exposures were far below the allowable ICNIRP limits with a median exposure in children of 0.18 to 0.19%. They also observed the measurements were highest in the afternoon. There was no statistically significant correlation between exposure level and subjective complaints (headache, sleep disturbances, nervousness, tinnitus and difficulties in concentration). In a few cases in adolescents an increased risk of chronic health complaints was observed with self-reported distance to mobile phone base stations and with acute health effects in the noon to evening hours. A project summary is listed on <http://www.emf-forschungsprogramm.de/forschung/epidemiologie/epidemiologie_abges/epi_045_AB.pdf>. I a follow-on analysis of the same data, the authors looked at the prior endpoints in summation as functional data. Again, they observed no effects that correlated with exposure levels. A recent study did report a correlation between behavioral problems in adolescents and high levels of environmental RF exposure (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.5) but not for younger children (OR 1.3; 95% CI 0.7-2.6). An association was also observed between measured RF fields and behavioral problems in both children (OR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.4-5.9) and adolescents (OR = 3.7; 95% CI 1.6-8.4). The results, however, were largely due to one small location in the study area. A subsequent study on adolescents (n = 1025, ages 13-17 yrs) reported a significant correlation between headaches and listening to electronic music for 30 minutes per day (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.1) and 1-3 hours per day (OR = 2.1; 1.2-3.7) but not with mobile phone use. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Heinrich et al. 2011 (IEEE #5647): A possible influence of radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) exposure on health outcomes was investigated in various studies. The main problem of previous studies was exposure assessment. The aim of our study was the investigation of a possible association between RF EMF and chronic well-being in young persons using personal dosimetry. 3022 children and adolescents were randomly selected from the population registries of four Bavarian cities in Germany (participation 52%). Personal interview data on chronic symptoms, socio-demographic characteristics and potential confounders were collected. A 24-h radio frequency exposure profile was generated using a personal dosimeter. Exposure levels over waking hours were expressed as mean percentage of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) reference level. Half of the children and nearly every adolescent owned a mobile phone which was used only for short durations per day. Measured exposure was far below the current ICNIRP reference levels. The most reported chronic symptom in children and adolescents was fatigue. No statistically significant association between measured exposure and chronic symptoms was observed. Our results do not indicate an association between measured exposure to RF EMF and chronic well-being in children and adolescents. Prospective studies investigating potential long-term effects of RF EMF are necessary to confirm our results.
Findings		Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		Ludwig-Maximilians Univ, Munich Germany - k.radon@irz.uni-muenchen.de
Funding Agency		BfS, Germany, DMF, Germany
Country		GERMANY
References		Millde-Busch, A et al. BMC Neurol., (2010) 10:12-10 pages Thomas, S et al. Eur J Epidemiol., (2010) 25:135-141 Kuhnlein, A et al. Bioelectromagnetics, (2009) 30:261-269 Thomas, S et al. Environ Health, (2008) 7:54- Thomas, S et al. Bioelectromagnetics, (2008) 29:463-470 Heinrich , S et al. Environ Health., (2010) 9:75-(9 pages) Heinrich , S et al. Environ Int., (2011) 37:26-30
Comments		The limit of detection of the personal dose meter was 0.5 V/m. Any reading below that was assigned a nomimal value of 0.25 V/m.