Psychological factors associated with self-reported sensitivity to mobile phones

Abstract

Do persons with electrosensitivity differ from individuals reporting symptoms from exposure to mobile phones only? This is the main question addressed in the paper by Rubin et al. [1] in this issue. Previous provocation studies for electromagnetic sensitivity have found no differences in the severity of symptoms elicited by active or sham exposure to electromagnetic fields [2]. Still, a strong perceived association between electromagnetic radiation and a range of nonspecific health complaints exists in the general public. The topic is highly relevant on both an individual and a societal level. Electrosensitivity, alongside with other quite similar functional disorders with nonspecific complaints, accounts for significant public burden, including increased work absenteeism and increased health utilization [3], in addition to the individual consequences from such disorders. Thus, identifying subgroups with a high risk of these adverse consequences is of importance. The study by Rubin et al. is rather small scale, comprising 19 self-labeled electrosensitive individuals compared with 52 persons reporting sensitivity to only mobile phones, as well as 60 healthy controls. Nevertheless, the authors found significant group differences on quite a few outcome measures. A few methodological issues warrant further discussion. As noted by the authors, the most important limitation of the study is its cross-sectional design, which obviously makes it difficult to infer a direction of causality. For example, do negative affect and personal concerns regarding cell phone radiation cause electrosensitivity or