Acute effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM mobile phones on subjective well-being and physiological reactions: A meta-analysis

The potential effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by GSM mobile phones on subjective symptoms, well-being and physiological parameters have been investigated in many studies. However, the results have been ambiguous. The current meta-analysis aims to clarify whether RF-EMF have an influence on well-being in self-reported sensitive persons, as well as in non-sensitive people. A literature search revealed 17 studies including 1174 participants. The single effects for various subjective and objective outcomes were meta-analytically combined to yield a single population parameter. Dependant variables were subjective (e.g. headaches) and objective parameters (e.g. heart rate variability) of wellbeing. The results show no significant impact of short-term RF-EMF exposure on any parameter. Future research should focus on the possible effects of long-term exposure. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.