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(Database last updated on Mar 27, 2024)
| ID Number | 1704 | |
| Study Type | Human / Provocation | |
| Model | Mobile phone exposure of humans (University and elementary students, military radar personnel and women) in Iran and correlations with headache, other subjective endpoints hypersensitivity, reaction time, short-term memory and autism plus studies of mercury and nickel leaching from dental fillings and orthodontic braces. | |
| Details | Students from Rafsanjan University in Iran were initially provided a questionnaire to determine if various subjective symptoms (headache, vertigo, myalgia, palpitation, fatigue, tinnitus, lack of concentration, attention disorder, nervousness, low back pain) were correlated with mobile phone use. Among the students, 26% of females and 38.2% of males had mobile phones. 60% of females and 14% of males reported headaches, but there was no correlation with mobile phone use. There was also no correlation with any other endpoint under study. Interestingly, the authors conclude that "in developing countries such as Iran, people are less familiar with the issue ..." and "... as it was indicated by Mild et al 1998, awareness and fear of mobile phone radiation, which has been created by the mass media, might cause mobile users to report more symptoms". The authors also conclude that the lack of media interest in Iran might be an explanation for why such subjective symptoms are not correlated with mobile phone or base station exposure. In a related study, Mortazavi et al recruited femal students (n=14) that had not used mobile phones prior to the study and had no dental amalgam restorations but had 4 or more decayed teeth. The students recieved dental fillings with a mercury compound and half (n=7) were given a mobile phone and talked for 15 minutes per day, while the other 7 were "sham exposed". Urine samples 1 hr prior to the amalgam restoration and 1 hr after each daily mobile phone exposure were taken to determine mercury concentration. In addition, the authors also looked at additional subjects (n=30) with existing mercury amagams (average 6.4) following MRI analysis at 0.23 T. The authors report statistically elevated mercury in the urine of mobile phone users on days 2, 3, and 4 of mobile phone use. Mercury was also elevated following MRI exposure. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Mortazavi et al. 2011 (IEEE #5155): University students use mobile phones frequently. We previously showed that there was no association between mobile phone use and EMF health hazards among university students. As our previous study was based only on self-reported symptoms this double-blind study was designed to answer two basic questions. Firstly, are self-reported hypersensitive individuals capable of sensing whether there is a real/sham microwave exposure? Secondly, do hypersensitive patients show alterations in their biological parameters such as heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure during microwave exposure? The study consisted of a preliminary screening phase and two subsequent complementary phases. In the 1st phase, 700 students were screened for EMF hypersensitivity. Fifty two participants were hypersensitive individuals but after applying the exclusion criteria only 28 students were invited to take part in the 2nd and 3rd phase of the study, but only 20 students (71.4%) declared their informed consent. In the 2nd phase, these self reported hypersensitive participants, were exposed/sham exposed to microwave radiation emitted from a mobile phone for 10 minutes and they were asked if they could sense the existence of microwave radiation. In the 3rd phase, all students were connected to ICU monitoring devices and their basic physiological parameters were recorded precisely. Among self-reported symptoms reported in our previous study, in this study only problem in concentration (P < 0.05) and low back pain (P < 0.05) were associated with mobile phone use. Furthermore, there was a significant association between the location of mobile phone during talk and the overall score of the severity of the symptoms (P < 0.001). When the participants were asked to report their perception about the real and sham exposures, only 5 students (25%) could discriminate the real exposure/sham exposure phases. This relative frequency can be only due to chance. In the 3rd phase all of the 20 participants were connected to intensive care unit monitors and the changes in their heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure during real/sham exposure were recorded. No statistically significant changes between the means of these parameters in real/sham exposure were observed. Our findings clearly confirm the results obtained inother provocative studies. These data also indicate the possible role of psychological factors in electromagnetic hypersensitivity. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Movvahedi et al. 2014 (IEEE #6201): BACKGROUND: Now-a-days, children are exposed to mobile phone radiation at a very early age. We have previously shown that a large proportion of children in the city of Shiraz, Iran use mobile phones. Furthermore, we have indicated that the visual reaction time (VRT) of university students was significantly affected by a 10 min real/sham exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phone. We found that these exposures decreased the reaction time which might lead to a better response to different hazards. We have also revealed that occupational exposures to radar radiations decreased the reaction time in radar workers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether short-term exposure of elementary school students to radiofrequency (RF) radiation leads to changes in their reaction time and short-term memory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 elementary school children ages ranging from 8 to 10 years studying at a public elementary school in Shiraz, Iran were enrolled in this study. Standardized computer-based tests of VRT and short-term memory (modified for children) were administered. The students were asked to perform some preliminary tests for orientation with the VRT test. After orientation, to reduce the random variation of measurements, each test was repeated ten times in both real and sham exposure phases. The time interval between the two subsequent sham and real exposure phases was 30 min. RESULTS: The mean ± standard deviation reaction times after a 10 min talk period and after a 10 min sham exposure (switched off mobile) period were 249.0 ± 82.3 ms and 252.9 ± 68.2 ms (P = 0.629), respectively. On the other hand, the mean short-term memory scores after the talk and sham exposure periods were 1062.60 ± 305.39, and 1003.84 ± 339.68 (P = 0.030), respectively. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that short-term exposure of elementary school students to RF radiation leads to the better performance of their short-term memory. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Mortazavi et al. 2016 (IEEE #6357): According to the World Health Organization (WHO), factors such as growing electricity demand, ever-advancing technologies and changes in social behaviour have led to steadily increasing exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields. Dental amalgam fillings are among the major sources of exposure to elemental mercury vapour in the general population. Although it was previously believed that low levels are mercury (i.g. release of mercury from dental amalgam) is not hazardous, now numerous data indicate that even very low doses of mercury cause toxicity. There are some evidence indicating that perinatal exposure to mercury is significantly associated with an increased risk of developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Furthermore, mercury can decrease the levels of neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, noreprenephrine, and acetylcholine in the brain and cause neurological problems. On the other hand, a strong positive correlation between maternal and cord blood mercury levels is found in some studies. We have previously shown that exposure to MRI or microwave radiation emitted by common mobile phones can lead to increased release of mercury from dental amalgam fillings. Moreover, when we investigated the effects of MRI machines with stronger magnetic fields, our previous findings were confirmed. As a strong association between exposure to electromagnetic fields and mercury level has been found in our previous studies, our findings can lead us to this conclusion that maternal exposure to electromagnetic fields in mothers with dental amalgam fillings may cause elevated levels of mercury and trigger the increase in autism rates. Further studies are needed to have a better understanding of the possible role of the increased mercury level after exposure to electromagnetic fields and the rate of autism spectrum disorders in the offspring. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Motazavi et al. 2012 (IEEE #6937): The worldwide dramatic increase in mobile phone use has generated great concerns about the detrimental effects of microwave radiations emitted by these communication devices. Reaction time plays a critical role in performing tasks necessary to avoid hazards. As far as we know, this study is the first survey that reports decreased reaction time after exposure to electromagnetic fields generated by a high specific absorption rate mobile phone. It is also the first study in which previous history of mobile phone use is taken into account. The aim of this study was to assess both the acute and chronic effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones on reaction time in university students. Visual reaction time (VRT) of young university students was recorded with a simple blind computer-assisted-VRT test, before and after a 10 min real/sham exposure to electromagnetic fields of mobile phones. Participants were 160 right-handed university students aged 18-31. To assess the effect of chronic exposures, the reaction time in sham-exposed phases were compared among low level, moderate and frequent users of mobile phones. The mean ± SD reaction time after real exposure and sham exposure were 286.78 ± 31.35 ms and 295.86 ± 32.17 ms (P < 0.001), respectively. The age of students did not significantly alter the reaction time either in talk or in standby mode. The reaction time either in talk or in standby mode was shorter in male students. The students' VRT was significantly affected by exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by a mobile phone. It can be concluded that these exposures cause decreased reaction time, which may lead to a better response to different hazards. In this light, this phenomenon might decrease the chances of human errors and fatal accidents. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Paknahad et al.2016 (IEEE #6942): Background Dental amalgam is composed of approximately 50% elemental mercury. Despite concerns over the toxicity of mercury, amalgam is still the most widely used restorative material. Wi-Fi is a rapidly using local area wireless computer networking technology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the effect of exposure to Wi-Fi signals on mercury release from amalgam restorations. Methods Standard class V cavities were prepared on the buccal surfaces of 20 non-carious extracted human premolars. The teeth were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 10). The control group was stored in non-environment. The specimens in the experimental groups were exposed to a radiofrequency radiation emitted from standard Wi Fi devices at 2.4 GHz for 20 min. The distance between the Wi-Fi router and samples was 30 cm and the router was exchanging data with a laptop computer that was placed 20 m away from the router. The concentration of mercury in the artificial saliva in the groups was evaluated by using a cold-vapor atomic absorption Mercury Analyzer System. The independent t test was used to evaluate any significant differences in mercury release between the two groups. Results The mean (±SD) concentration of mercury in the artificial saliva of the Wi-Fi exposed teeth samples was 0.056 ± .025 mg/L, while it was only 0.026 ± .008 mg/L in the non-exposed control samples. This difference was statistically significant (P =0.009). Conclusion Exposure of patients with amalgam restorations to radiofrequency radiation emitted from conventional Wi-Fi devices can increase mercury release from amalgam restorations. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Mortazavi et al. 2018 (IEEE #7057): Background The worldwide dramatic increase in the use of cell phones has generated great concerns about their potential adverse health effects. Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted from mobile phones on the level of nickel release from orthodontic brackets. Methods Twenty stainless steel brackets were divided randomly into experimental and control groups (n = 10). Brackets were immersed in artificial saliva at 37 °C for 6 months. Experimental group were exposed to GSM 900 MHz RF-EMFs emitted from a mobile phone stimulator for 4 hours. The specific absorption rate (SAR) was 2.287 W/kg. The concentration of nickel in the artificial saliva in both groups was evaluated by using the cold-vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. The Mann-Whitney test was used to assess significant differences in nickel release between the exposed and non-exposed groups. Results The mean nickel levels in the exposed and non-exposed groups were 11.95 and 2.89 ¼g/l, respectively. This difference between the concentrations of nickel in the artificial saliva of these groups was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Conclusion Exposure to RF-EMFs emitted from mobile phones can lead to human exposure to higher levels of nickel in saliva in patients with orthodontic appliances. As nickel exposure can lead to allergic reaction in humans and considering this point that about 1020% of the population can be hypersensitive to nickel, further studies are needed to evaluate the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted from common devices such as mobile phones or Wi-Fi routers on the level of nickel release from orthodontic brackets. |
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| Findings | Effects | |
| Status | Completed With Publication | |
| Principal Investigator | Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci, Iran | |
| Funding Agency | ????? | |
| Country | IRAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF) | |
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