Abstract

Overview

Individuals attributing health complaints to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure can develop a condition known as idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to RF-EMFs (IEI-RF) or electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), which significantly impacts their quality of life.

Methods

This longitudinal epidemiological study involved 892 Dutch participants from the AMIGO cohort, monitored over ten years. Participants completed questionnaires in 2011/2012, 2013, and 2021, providing data on perceived RF-EMF exposure, nonspecific symptoms, sleep problems, and transitions between states of health regarding IEI-RF and EHS.

Findings

• Approximately 1% of participants consistently reported health complaints attributed to RF-EMF exposure across the investigated years.
• The research utilized multi-state Markov models indicating a significant probability (95%) of transitioning from attributing symptoms to RF-EMF to not attributing them, over a 10-year period.
• Those with higher perceived RF-EMF exposure had more frequent state changes regarding their health complaint attribution.

Conclusion

The study reveals that although a small fraction of the population reports EHS or IEI-RF, these conditions are perhaps more transient and fluctuating than previously considered, with most individuals ceasing to attribute their symptoms to RF-EMF over time.