Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: a systematic review of provocation studies.
OBJECTIVE
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.


METHODS
An extensive systematic search was used to identify relevant blind or double-blind provocation studies. This involved searching numerous literature databases and conference proceedings, and examining the citations of reviews and included studies. The results of relevant studies were tabulated and metaanalyses were used to compare the proportions of "hypersensitive" and control participants able to discriminate active from sham EMF exposures.


RESULTS
Thirty-one experiments testing 725 "electromagnetically hypersensitive" participants were identified. Twenty-four of these found no evidence to support the existence of a biophysical hypersensitivity, whereas 7 reported some supporting evidence. For 2 of these 7, the same research groups subsequently tried and failed to replicate their findings. In 3 more, the positive results appear to be statistical artefacts. The final 2 studies gave mutually incompatible results. Our metaanalyses found no evidence of an improved ability to detect EMF in "hypersensitive" participants.


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.
Rubin
G James
GJ
Mobile Phones Research Unit, Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry and Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, King's College London, UK. g.rubin@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Das Munshi
Jayati
J
Wessely
Simon
S
D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003626:Data Display / Q000009:adverse effects; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018876:Environmental Illness / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D018570:Risk Assessment