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Electrohypersensitivity or EHS
What is electrohypersensitivity or EHS? In it's fact sheet on EHS, the WHO describes it as follows. "For some time a number of individuals have reported a variety of health problems that they relate to exposure to EMF. While some individuals report mild symptoms and react by avoiding the fields as best they can, others are so severely affected that they cease work and change their entire lifestyle. This reputed sensitivity to EMF has been generally termed "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" or EHS.... EHS is characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms, which afflicted individuals attribute to exposure to EMF. The symptoms most commonly experienced include dermatological symptoms (redness, tingling, and burning sensations) as well as neurasthenic and vegetative symptoms (fatigue, tiredness, concentration difficulties, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitation, and digestive disturbances)."
The WHO and a number of other public health organizations have concluded that there is no significant evidence that exposure to EMF causes any of the symptoms associated with EHS. The following is a list of additional articles, web sites, and blogs which deal with the issue of electrohypersensitivity or EHS. The list includes a brief description of the materials that are referenced. All of these materials arrive at the same conclusion.
What is electrohypersensitivity or EHS? In it's fact sheet on EHS, the WHO describes it as follows. "For some time a number of individuals have reported a variety of health problems that they relate to exposure to EMF. While some individuals report mild symptoms and react by avoiding the fields as best they can, others are so severely affected that they cease work and change their entire lifestyle. This reputed sensitivity to EMF has been generally termed "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" or EHS.... EHS is characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms, which afflicted individuals attribute to exposure to EMF. The symptoms most commonly experienced include dermatological symptoms (redness, tingling, and burning sensations) as well as neurasthenic and vegetative symptoms (fatigue, tiredness, concentration difficulties, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitation, and digestive disturbances)."
The WHO and a number of other public health organizations have concluded that there is no significant evidence that exposure to EMF causes any of the symptoms associated with EHS. The following is a list of additional articles, web sites, and blogs which deal with the issue of electrohypersensitivity or EHS. The list includes a brief description of the materials that are referenced. All of these materials arrive at the same conclusion.
WHO Documents
The WHO sponsored a workshop on EHS which was held in Prague in October 2004. The proceedings from this conference are available by clicking on this link for the full proceedings (PDF 1.3 MB).
WHO EHS Workshop
One of the recommendations of this workshop was for the publication of a Fact Sheet to summarize the findings. Click on this link for the Fact Sheet Word document
WHO EHS Fact Sheet
The conclusion of the WHO Fact Sheet on EHS is that there is no connection between exposure to EMF and EHS symptoms. In reviewing the extensive studies on EHS and health, the Fact Sheet makes the following statements: "The majority of studies indicate that EHS individuals cannot detect EMF exposure any more accurately than non-EHS individuals. Well controlled and conducted double-blind studies have shown that symptoms were not correlated with EMF exposure." "There are also some indications that these symptoms may be due to pre-existing psychiatric conditions as well as stress reactions as a result of worrying about EMF health effects, rather than the EMF exposure itself."
SCENIHR
The advisory Scientific Committee to the European Commission stated the following in its comprehensive report "Health Effect of Exposure to EMF" of Jan. 2009. "Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks" : "Regarding non-carcinogenic outcomes, several studies were performed on subjects reporting subjective symptoms. In the previous opinion, it was concluded that scientific studies had failed to provide support for a relationship between RF exposure and selfreported symptoms... the conclusion that scientific studies have failed to provide support for an effect of RF fields on self-reported symptoms still holds. Scientific studies have indicated that a nocebo effect (an adverse non-specific effect that is caused by expectation or belief that something is harmful) may play a role in symptom formation."
Health Council the Netherlands
In its 2008 executive summary of scientific research on EHS, the Health Council of the Netherlands has this to say about EHS: "Both in the living environment and in the laboratory, studies have been performed into a possible link between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the occurrence of symptoms. Several of these studies were not properly designed and cannot be used for the analysis. From the good quality scientific data emerges the picture that there is no causal relationship between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and the occurrence of symptoms. However, there is a relationship between symptoms and the assumption of being exposed and therefore most likely with the risk perception. Nevertheless, the symptoms do exist and require a solution."
Review of 31 EHS Studies
The following article is an overview of 31 separate double blind studies in which self declared EHS individuals were subjected to various tests. It is based on studies such as these that the WHO reached its conclusions. From the abstract: The objectives of this study were to assess whether people who report hypersensitivity to weak electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are better at detecting EMF under blind or double-blind conditions than nonhypersensitive individuals, and to test whether they respond to the presence of EMF with increased symptom reporting. Conclusions: The symptoms described by "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" sufferers can be severe and are sometimes disabling. However, it has proved difficult to show under blind conditions that exposure to EMF can trigger these symptoms. This suggests that "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" is unrelated to the presence of EMF, although more research into this phenomenon is required.
Ben Goldacre Commentary
Ben Goldacre who runs the popular British web site dealing with Bad Science published the following commentary on the above 31 study overview: Factors that risk being left out of the equation. Goldacre provides an analysis of this study in an easy to understand layman like language. The same posting lists 6 additional studies to bring the total number of negative double blind EHS studies indentified by Goldacre to 37.
Sham radiation causes real pain
The following article appeared in The Economist magazine. It describes a study in which self reported EHS individuals were placed in a functional magnetic-resonance brain imager. They were alternately subjected to a real heat source and "sham" (fake) cell radiation. Pain centers in the brain "lit up" with the sham radiation. This finding is consistent with the view of the WHO that EHS may be a psychosomatic disorder. See Sham Radiation Real Pain.
Mind over body
In this article/interview from New Scientist magazine psychiatrist Simon Wessely responds to questions on his research into illnesses that are believed to have a psychosomatic origin including chronic fatigue syndrome and EHS. He had this to say about EHS: "My colleague James Rubin and I showed that people who believe they are sensitive to mobile phones aren't able to tell the difference between sham and real phone signals. So are these people all making it up? Of course not. They've got themselves into a situation where a mobile phone triggers symptoms, but it doesn't do so through electromagnetic radiation."
The WHO sponsored a workshop on EHS which was held in Prague in October 2004. The proceedings from this conference are available by clicking on this link for the full proceedings (PDF 1.3 MB).
WHO EHS Workshop
One of the recommendations of this workshop was for the publication of a Fact Sheet to summarize the findings. Click on this link for the Fact Sheet Word document
WHO EHS Fact Sheet
The conclusion of the WHO Fact Sheet on EHS is that there is no connection between exposure to EMF and EHS symptoms. In reviewing the extensive studies on EHS and health, the Fact Sheet makes the following statements: "The majority of studies indicate that EHS individuals cannot detect EMF exposure any more accurately than non-EHS individuals. Well controlled and conducted double-blind studies have shown that symptoms were not correlated with EMF exposure." "There are also some indications that these symptoms may be due to pre-existing psychiatric conditions as well as stress reactions as a result of worrying about EMF health effects, rather than the EMF exposure itself."
SCENIHR
The advisory Scientific Committee to the European Commission stated the following in its comprehensive report "Health Effect of Exposure to EMF" of Jan. 2009. "Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks" : "Regarding non-carcinogenic outcomes, several studies were performed on subjects reporting subjective symptoms. In the previous opinion, it was concluded that scientific studies had failed to provide support for a relationship between RF exposure and selfreported symptoms... the conclusion that scientific studies have failed to provide support for an effect of RF fields on self-reported symptoms still holds. Scientific studies have indicated that a nocebo effect (an adverse non-specific effect that is caused by expectation or belief that something is harmful) may play a role in symptom formation."
Health Council the Netherlands
In its 2008 executive summary of scientific research on EHS, the Health Council of the Netherlands has this to say about EHS: "Both in the living environment and in the laboratory, studies have been performed into a possible link between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the occurrence of symptoms. Several of these studies were not properly designed and cannot be used for the analysis. From the good quality scientific data emerges the picture that there is no causal relationship between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and the occurrence of symptoms. However, there is a relationship between symptoms and the assumption of being exposed and therefore most likely with the risk perception. Nevertheless, the symptoms do exist and require a solution."
Review of 31 EHS Studies
The following article is an overview of 31 separate double blind studies in which self declared EHS individuals were subjected to various tests. It is based on studies such as these that the WHO reached its conclusions. From the abstract: The objectives of this study were to assess whether people who report hypersensitivity to weak electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are better at detecting EMF under blind or double-blind conditions than nonhypersensitive individuals, and to test whether they respond to the presence of EMF with increased symptom reporting. Conclusions: The symptoms described by "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" sufferers can be severe and are sometimes disabling. However, it has proved difficult to show under blind conditions that exposure to EMF can trigger these symptoms. This suggests that "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" is unrelated to the presence of EMF, although more research into this phenomenon is required.
Ben Goldacre Commentary
Ben Goldacre who runs the popular British web site dealing with Bad Science published the following commentary on the above 31 study overview: Factors that risk being left out of the equation. Goldacre provides an analysis of this study in an easy to understand layman like language. The same posting lists 6 additional studies to bring the total number of negative double blind EHS studies indentified by Goldacre to 37.
Sham radiation causes real pain
The following article appeared in The Economist magazine. It describes a study in which self reported EHS individuals were placed in a functional magnetic-resonance brain imager. They were alternately subjected to a real heat source and "sham" (fake) cell radiation. Pain centers in the brain "lit up" with the sham radiation. This finding is consistent with the view of the WHO that EHS may be a psychosomatic disorder. See Sham Radiation Real Pain.
Mind over body
In this article/interview from New Scientist magazine psychiatrist Simon Wessely responds to questions on his research into illnesses that are believed to have a psychosomatic origin including chronic fatigue syndrome and EHS. He had this to say about EHS: "My colleague James Rubin and I showed that people who believe they are sensitive to mobile phones aren't able to tell the difference between sham and real phone signals. So are these people all making it up? Of course not. They've got themselves into a situation where a mobile phone triggers symptoms, but it doesn't do so through electromagnetic radiation."
See our page on cell towers for more EHS studies on residents living near towers
Check out our page on EHS Product Scams
Check out Bad Science Dr. Ben Goldacre writes about EHS
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All trademarks are the property of their respective owners Copyright 2009 EMF & Health
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners Copyright 2009 EMF & Health