TY - JOUR
T1 - Modeled and Perceived Exposure to Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields From Mobile-Phone Base Stations and the Development of Symptoms Over Time in a General Population Cohort
AU - Martens, Astrid L
AU - Slottje, Pauline
AU - Timmermans, Danielle R M
AU - Kromhout, Hans
AU - Reedijk, Marije
AU - Vermeulen, Roel C H
AU - Smid, Tjabe
N1 - © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2017/4/7
Y1 - 2017/4/7
N2 - We assessed associations between modeled and perceived exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from mobile-phone base stations and the development of nonspecific symptoms and sleep disturbances over time. A population-based Dutch cohort study, the Occupational and Environmental Health Cohort Study (AMIGO) (n = 14,829; ages 31-65 years), was established in 2011/2012 (T0), with follow-up of a subgroup (n = 3,992 invited) in 2013 (T1; n = 2,228) and 2014 (T2; n = 1,740). We modeled far-field RF-EMF exposure from mobile-phone base stations at the home addresses of the participants using a 3-dimensional geospatial model (NISMap). Perceived exposure (0 = not at all; 6 = very much), nonspecific symptoms, and sleep disturbances were assessed by questionnaire. We performed cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, including fixed-effects regression. We found small correlations between modeled and perceived exposure in AMIGO participants at baseline (n = 14,309; rSpearman = 0.10). For 222 follow-up participants, modeled exposure increased substantially (>0.030 mW/m2) between T0 and T1. This increase in modeled exposure was associated with an increase in perceived exposure during the same time period. In contrast to modeled RF-EMF exposure from mobile-phone base stations, perceived exposure was associated with higher symptom reporting scores in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, as well as with sleep disturbances in cross-sectional analyses.
AB - We assessed associations between modeled and perceived exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from mobile-phone base stations and the development of nonspecific symptoms and sleep disturbances over time. A population-based Dutch cohort study, the Occupational and Environmental Health Cohort Study (AMIGO) (n = 14,829; ages 31-65 years), was established in 2011/2012 (T0), with follow-up of a subgroup (n = 3,992 invited) in 2013 (T1; n = 2,228) and 2014 (T2; n = 1,740). We modeled far-field RF-EMF exposure from mobile-phone base stations at the home addresses of the participants using a 3-dimensional geospatial model (NISMap). Perceived exposure (0 = not at all; 6 = very much), nonspecific symptoms, and sleep disturbances were assessed by questionnaire. We performed cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, including fixed-effects regression. We found small correlations between modeled and perceived exposure in AMIGO participants at baseline (n = 14,309; rSpearman = 0.10). For 222 follow-up participants, modeled exposure increased substantially (>0.030 mW/m2) between T0 and T1. This increase in modeled exposure was associated with an increase in perceived exposure during the same time period. In contrast to modeled RF-EMF exposure from mobile-phone base stations, perceived exposure was associated with higher symptom reporting scores in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, as well as with sleep disturbances in cross-sectional analyses.
KW - cell phones
KW - geospatial model
KW - mobile-phone base stations
KW - nonspecific symptoms
KW - perceived exposure
KW - prospective cohort studies
KW - radiofrequency electromagnetic fields
KW - sleep disturbances
U2 - 10.1093/aje/kwx041
DO - 10.1093/aje/kwx041
M3 - Article
C2 - 28398549
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 186
SP - 210
EP - 219
JO - American Journal of Epidemiology
JF - American Journal of Epidemiology
IS - 2
ER -