Effects of radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones on electromagnetic hypersensitive subjects

• Published in: Environmental health Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 69
• Main Authors: Kwon, Min Kyung, Choi, Joon Yul, Kim, Sung Kean, Yoo, Tae Keun, Kim, Deok Won
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 21.09.2012; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; CDMA technology; Cell Phone; Cellular telephones; Code Division Multiple Access; Double-Blind Method; Electromagnetic fields; Electromagnetic Fields - adverse effects; Electromagnetism; EMF perception; Environmental Exposure; Environmental health; Female; Health aspects; Heart beat; Heart rate; Heart Rate - radiation effects; HRV; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Male; Microwaves - adverse effects; Perception; Physiological aspects; Physiological changes; Physiology; Provocation; Radiation; Republic of Korea; Respiratory Rate - radiation effects; Studies; Subjective symptoms; Young Adult; South Korea
• ISSN: 1476-069X; 1476-069X
• DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-11-69

With the use of the third generation (3 G) mobile phones on the rise, social concerns have arisen concerning the possible health effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) mobile phones in humans. The number of people with self-reported electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), who complain of various subjective symptoms such as headache, dizziness and fatigue, has also increased. However, the origins of EHS remain unclear. In this double-blind study, two volunteer groups of 17 EHS and 20 non-EHS subjects were simultaneously investigated for physiological changes (heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiration rate), eight subjective symptoms, and perception of RF-EMFs during real and sham exposure sessions. Experiments were conducted using a dummy phone containing a WCDMA module (average power, 24 dBm at 1950 MHz; specific absorption rate, 1.57 W/kg) within a headset placed on the head for 32 min. WCDMA RF-EMFs generated no physiological changes or subjective symptoms in either group. There was no evidence that EHS subjects perceived RF-EMFs better than non-EHS subjects. Considering the analyzed physiological data, the subjective symptoms surveyed, and the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed, 32 min of RF radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones demonstrated no effects in either EHS or non-EHS subjects.