Time course of electromagnetic hypersensitivity in a prospective cohort of Dutch individuals

Abstract

BACKGROUND Some individuals attribute health complaints to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure. This condition, known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), can be disabling for those who are affected. Psychosocial factors are thought to play a role but little is understood about the time course of EHS. In this study we assessed factors related to developing, maintaining, or discarding EHS over the course of 10 years, defined as reporting health complaints attributed to RF-EMF exposure. METHODS Participants (n=892, mean age 50 at baseline, 52% women) from the Dutch Occupational and Environmental Health Cohort Study AMIGO filled in questionnaires in 2011/2012 (T0), 2013 (T1), and 2021 (T2) where information pertaining to perceived RF-EMF exposure and risk, symptoms, sleep problems, and EHS was collected. We fitted multi-state Markov models to represent how individuals transitioned between states (yes, no) of symptom attribution to RF-EMF exposure. RESULTS At each time point, about 1% or study participants reported health complaints that they attributed to RF-EMF exposure. While this percentage remained stable, the individuals who reported such complaints changed over time: of 9 persons reporting health complaints at T0, only 1 reported EHS at both T1 and T2. Overall, participants had a 95% chance of transitioning from yes to no over a time course of 10 years, and a chance of 1% of transitioning from no to yes. Participants with a high RF-EMF exposure and risk perception had a general tendency to move more frequently between states. CONCLUSIONS We observed a low prevalence of symptom attribution to RF-EMF exposure in our population. Prevalence did not vary strongly over time but there was a strong aspect of change: over 10 years, there was a high probability of not attributing symptoms to RF-EMF exposure anymore. Being EHS appears to be a more transient condition than previously assumed. KEYWORDS electromagnetic hypersensitivity