Unit for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology & NetTeaching, Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Ziemssenstrasse 1, Munich, Germany.
Eur J Epidemiol. 2010 Feb;25(2):135-41. doi: 10.1007/s10654-009-9408-x. Epub 2009 Dec 4.
Only few studies have so far investigated possible health effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) in children and adolescents, although experts discuss a potential higher vulnerability to such fields. We aimed to investigate a possible association between measured exposure to RF EMF fields and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. 1,498 children and 1,524 adolescents were randomly selected from the population registries of four Bavarian (South of Germany) cities. During an Interview data on participants' mental health, socio-demographic characteristics and potential confounders were collected. Mental health behaviour was assessed using the German version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Using a personal dosimeter, we obtained radio-frequency EMF exposure profiles over 24 h. Exposure levels over waking hours were expressed as mean percentage of the reference level. Overall, exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields was far below the reference level. Seven percent of the children and 5% of the adolescents showed an abnormal mental behaviour. In the multiple logistic regression analyses measured exposure to RF fields in the highest quartile was associated to overall behavioural problems for adolescents (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.5) but not for children (1.3; 0.7-2.6). These results are mainly driven by one subscale, as the results showed an association between exposure and conduct problems for adolescents (3.7; 1.6-8.4) and children (2.9; 1.4-5.9). As this is one of the first studies that investigated an association between exposure to mobile telecommunication networks and mental health behaviour more studies using personal dosimetry are warranted to confirm these findings.
目前仅有少数研究调查了儿童和青少年接触射频电磁场（RF EMF）可能产生的健康影响，尽管专家们讨论了他们对这类电磁场可能更易受到影响的问题。我们旨在研究儿童和青少年接触射频电磁场与行为问题之间可能存在的联系。从德国巴伐利亚州（南部）的四个城市的人口登记册中随机选择了 1498 名儿童和 1524 名青少年。在访谈中，收集了参与者心理健康、社会人口特征和潜在混杂因素的数据。使用德国版的长处和困难问卷（SDQ）评估心理健康行为。使用个人剂量计，我们获得了 24 小时的射频 EMF 暴露情况。清醒时间的暴露水平表示为参考水平的平均百分比。总的来说，射频电磁场的暴露水平远低于参考水平。7%的儿童和 5%的青少年表现出异常的精神行为。在多因素逻辑回归分析中，RF 场最高四分位的测量暴露与青少年的整体行为问题相关（OR 2.2；95%CI 1.1-4.5），但与儿童无关（1.3；0.7-2.6）。这些结果主要是由一个子量表驱动的，因为结果显示暴露与青少年（3.7；1.6-8.4）和儿童（2.9；1.4-5.9）的行为问题之间存在关联。由于这是第一项调查移动电信网络接触与心理健康行为之间关联的研究之一，因此需要更多使用个人剂量计的研究来证实这些发现。
