Abstract
BackgroundThere is persistent public concern about sleep disturbances due to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to investigate whether sleep quality is affected by mobile phone use or by other RF-EMF sources in the everyday environment.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study with 955 study participants aged between 30 and 60 years. Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness was assessed by means of standardized questionnaires in May 2008 (baseline) and May 2009 (follow-up). We also asked about mobile and cordless phone use and asked study participants for consent to obtain their mobile phone connection data from the mobile phone operators. Exposure to environmental RF-EMF was computed for each study participant using a previously developed and validated prediction model. In a nested sample of 119 study participants, RF-EMF exposure was measured in the bedroom and data on sleep behavior was collected by means of actigraphy during two weeks. Data were analyzed using multivariable regression models adjusted for relevant confounders.ResultsIn the longitudinal analyses neither operator-recorded nor self-reported mobile phone use was associated with sleep disturbances or daytime sleepiness. Also, exposure to environmental RF-EMF did not affect self-reported sleep quality. The results from the longitudinal analyses were confirmed in the nested sleep study with objectively recorded exposure and measured sleep behavior data.ConclusionsWe did not find evidence for adverse effects on sleep quality from RF-EMF exposure in our everyday environment.
Highlights
In the last two decades, emerging wireless technologies like mobile or cordless phones have led to increasing exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in everyday life [1,2]
Public concern about possible health effects due to RF-EMF exposure arose and various representative population surveys in Europe reported that sleep disturbances were the most common health complaints attributed to RF-EMF exposure [3,4,5]
No epidemiological study has explored the effect of mobile phone use on sleep using objectively recorded data on mobile phone use provided by network operators
Summary
In the last two decades, emerging wireless technologies like mobile or cordless phones have led to increasing exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in everyday life [1,2]. Most of the studies were conducted in a laboratory setting applying well controlled exposure conditions mimicking a mobile phone handset exposure during 30 to 45 minutes [6,7,8,9,10,11] Overall, these laboratory studies demonstrated fairly consistently that exposure prior to sleep increased the power in the spindle frequency range during sleep stage 2 of the nonREM sleep in the first few hours of sleep. There is persistent public concern about sleep disturbances due to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RFEMF) exposure The aim of this prospective cohort study was to investigate whether sleep quality is affected by mobile phone use or by other RF-EMF sources in the everyday environment
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