Effects of exposure to GSM mobile phone base station signals on salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and immunoglobulin A.

Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES · 2010 · Mixed · Low evidence

← Research stream

MixedLow evidencePaper 4362

An increase in cortisol was detected when exposure changed from low to high in one scenario. Higher alpha-amylase concentrations were found in two scenarios compared to a third. IgA concentration was not significantly related to exposure.

Study snapshot

PublicationBiomedical and environmental sciences : BES · 2010

Study typerandomized_trial

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to test whether exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile phone base stations may have effects on salivary alpha-amylase, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and cortisol levels. METHODS: Fifty seven participants were randomly allocated to one of three different experimental scenarios (22 participants to scenario 1, 26 to scenario 2, and 9 to scenario 3). Each participant went through five 50-minute exposure sessions. The main RF-EMF source was a GSM-900-MHz antenna located at the outer wall of the building. In scenarios 1 and 2, the first, third, and fifth sessions were "low" (median power flux density 5.2 microW/m(2)) exposure. The second session was "high" (2126.8 microW/m(2)), and the fourth session was "medium" (153.6 microW/m(2)) in scenario 1, and vice versa in scenario 2. Scenario 3 had four "low" exposure conditions, followed by a "high" exposure condition. Biomedical parameters were collected by saliva samples three times a session. Exposure levels were created by shielding curtains. RESULTS: In scenario 3 from session 4 to session 5 (from "low" to "high" exposure), an increase of cortisol was detected, while in scenarios 1 and 2, a higher concentration of alpha-amylase related to the baseline was identified as compared to that in scenario 3. IgA concentration was not significantly related to the exposure. CONCLUSIONS: RF-EMF in considerably lower field densities than ICNIRP-guidelines may influence certain psychobiological stress markers.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typerandomized_trial

Effect directionmixed

Population57 participants

Sample size57

ExposureRF · 900 MHz · five 50-minute exposure sessions

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 40% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

salivary cortisol
alpha-amylase
immunoglobulin A (IgA)

Limitations

Small sample size in one scenario (9 participants)
Only short-term exposure assessed
Exposure levels were lower than ICNIRP guidelines

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "randomized_trial",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone base station",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "five 50-minute exposure sessions"
  },
  "population": "57 participants",
  "sample_size": 57,
  "outcomes": [
    "salivary cortisol",
    "alpha-amylase",
    "immunoglobulin A (IgA)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "An increase in cortisol was detected when exposure changed from low to high in one scenario. Higher alpha-amylase concentrations were found in two scenarios compared to a third. IgA concentration was not significantly related to exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Small sample size in one scenario (9 participants)",
    "Only short-term exposure assessed",
    "Exposure levels were lower than ICNIRP guidelines"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.4,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "GSM-900 MHz",
    "mobile phone base station",
    "cortisol",
    "alpha-amylase",
    "immunoglobulin A",
    "psychobiological stress markers"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.3,
      "reason": "Study involves mobile phone base station RF exposure relevant to wireless communication policy."
    }
  ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/s0895-3988(10)60053-0
PubMed: 20708499

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library