title: A very low level of magnetic field exposure does not affect a participant's mental fatigue and stress as much as VDT work.
abstract: Exposure to Magnetic Fields (MF) may affect the health of workers in an occupational environment. However, there is no clear evidence that the emission of MF from the visual display terminals (VDT) affects workers'mental status or induces stress in office environments. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether exposure to the MF during VDT work affects mental fatigue or induces stress related to psycho-physiological changes in workers. Thirty-seven students were voluntarily recruited to participate in this study. We created experimental conditions that a pair of the liquid crystal display (LCD) terminals separated by screens was closely placed in front of the visual suface of the cathode ray tube (CRT) units. All participants were not able to recognize whether the power of the CRT Units was ON or OFF while they worked with the LCD terminals. When the CRT unit was ON, participants who worked with the LCD terminal were called CRT-ON group. On the other hand, when the CRT unit was OFF, participants who worked with the CLD terminal were called CRT-OFF group. Incredibly short profiles of mood states (ISP)and subjective symptom questionnaires were used as indices of the mental fatigue as well as psychological stress before and after VDT work. Furthermore, salivary chromogranin A and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) were collected to measure physiological changes before and after VDT work. The results of the questionnaires and salivary and urinary stress markers showed that the exposure to the MF during VDT work did not significantly induce mental fatigue or psychological stress in comparison with the CRT-OFF group. Contrary to the results from the exposure, mood states of vigor decreased greatly (P < 0.05) whereas the states of fatigue and confusion increased significantly (P < 0.001) after VDT work. In the questionnaires for subjective symptoms, participants complained remarkably regarding 14 out of 25 conditions after VDT work. Moreover, urinary 8-OH-dG excretion increased significantly after VDT work. Taken together, the results of this study did not detect any bad health effects of MF exposure on the VDT participants but suggested that VDT work itself affects their mental fatigue and psycho-physiological status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Occupational Health Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Itsuko
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Miharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikushima
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horikawa
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haraga
authors.forename: Rieko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Chiharu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tashiro
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kasai
authors.forename: Sayumi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Yukie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Majima
authors.forename: Yoshika
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
mesh_terms: D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D000328:Adult; D053379:Chromogranin A; D002864:Chromogranins / Q000032:analysis; D016288:Computer Terminals; D003849:Deoxyguanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005222:Mental Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D053379:Chromogranin A; D002864:Chromogranins; D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D003849:Deoxyguanosine