Representative survey on idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields in Taiwan and comparison with the international literature.
Environ Health
; 17(1): 5, 2018 01 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29334987
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity refers to health effects attributed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposure and has been formally named "idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields" (IEI-EMF) by the World Health Organization. Because of the growing use of cell phones, IEI-EMF has become a global public health concern. A survey in 2007 in Taiwan showed that the prevalence rate of IEI-EMF was 13.3%, which is higher than rates in studies conducted previously. The survey also found that the rate was higher in women.METHODS:
To evaluate whether the prevalence rate of IEI-EMF is increasing and to verify the higher risk in women, we conducted a nationwide questionnaire survey using the same methods as the 2007 survey to assess the change in the prevalence rate of IEI-EMF in Taiwan. We also conducted a review of the literature and a meta-analysis to evaluate the changes in the prevalence rate around the world.RESULTS:
On the basis of the representative sample of 3303 participants, we found that the prevalence rate of IEI-EMF in Taiwan declined from 13.3% to 4.6% over a period of 5 years. The literature review also found the prevalence rates in other countries to be decreasing, instead of increasing as predicted previously. The meta-analysis of the data from the literature showed that women are more likely to have IEI-EMF than men, with an odds ratio of 1.19 (95% confidence interval 1.01-1.40).CONCLUSIONS:
We found the prevalence rate of IEI-EMF has been declining, instead of increasing as predicted previously. Women are more likely to report having IEI-EMF than men. Further studies to explore the causes leading to the declines may help the public, scientific community, and government deal with idiopathic intolerance to other environmental exposures.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Contexto em Saúde:
2_ODS3
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Sensibilidade Química Múltipla
/
Campos Eletromagnéticos
/
Exposição Ambiental
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Systematic_reviews
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Health
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article