Dispositional aspects of body focus and idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF).

Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2016 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 4881

Study snapshot

PublicationScandinavian journal of psychology · 2016

Study typecase_control

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Body focus is often considered an undesirable characteristic from medical point of view as it amplifies symptoms and leads to higher levels of health anxiety. However, it is connected to mindfulness, well-being and the sense of self in psychotherapy. The current study aimed to investigate the contribution of various body focus related constructs to acute and chronic generation and maintenance of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Thirty-six individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) and 36 controls were asked to complete questionnaires assessing negative affect, worries about harmful effects of EMFs, health anxiety (HA), body awareness, and somatosensory amplification (SSA), and to report experienced symptoms evoked by a sham magnetic field. Body awareness, HA, SSA, and EMF-related worries showed good discriminative power between individuals with IEI-EMF and controls. Considering all variables together, SSA was the best predictor of IEI-EMF. In the believed presence of a MF, people with IEI-EMF showed higher levels of anxiety and reported more symptoms than controls. In the IEI-EMF group, actual symptom reports were predicted by HA and state anxiety, while a reverse relationship between symptom reports and HA was found in the control group. Our findings show that SSA is a particularly important contributor to IEI-EMF, probably because it is the most comprehensive factor in its aetiology. IEI-EMF is associated with both a fear-related monitoring of bodily symptoms and a non-evaluative body focus. The identification of dispositional body focus may be relevant for the management of MUS.

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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 typecase_control

Effect directionunclear

PopulationIndividuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) and controls

Sample size72

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Thirty-six individuals with IEI-EMF and 36 controls completed questionnaires and reported symptoms evoked by a sham magnetic field. Body awareness, health anxiety, somatosensory amplification, and EMF-related worries discriminated between IEI-EMF and controls; somatosensory amplification was the best predictor when considering all variables together. In the believed presence of a magnetic field, the IEI-EMF group reported higher anxiety and more symptoms than controls; within the IEI-EMF group, symptom reports were predicted by health anxiety and state anxiety.

Outcomes measured

Negative affect
Worries about harmful effects of EMFs
Health anxiety (HA)
Body awareness
Somatosensory amplification (SSA)
Anxiety in believed presence of a magnetic field
Self-reported symptoms evoked by a sham magnetic field

Limitations

Exposure characteristics of the sham magnetic field (e.g., frequency/strength/duration) are not described in the abstract
Outcomes are self-reported questionnaires and symptom reports
Case-control design limits causal inference
Small sample size (36 per group)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "case_control",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) and controls",
  "sample_size": 72,
  "outcomes": [
    "Negative affect",
    "Worries about harmful effects of EMFs",
    "Health anxiety (HA)",
    "Body awareness",
    "Somatosensory amplification (SSA)",
    "Anxiety in believed presence of a magnetic field",
    "Self-reported symptoms evoked by a sham magnetic field"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Thirty-six individuals with IEI-EMF and 36 controls completed questionnaires and reported symptoms evoked by a sham magnetic field. Body awareness, health anxiety, somatosensory amplification, and EMF-related worries discriminated between IEI-EMF and controls; somatosensory amplification was the best predictor when considering all variables together. In the believed presence of a magnetic field, the IEI-EMF group reported higher anxiety and more symptoms than controls; within the IEI-EMF group, symptom reports were predicted by health anxiety and state anxiety.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure characteristics of the sham magnetic field (e.g., frequency/strength/duration) are not described in the abstract",
    "Outcomes are self-reported questionnaires and symptom reports",
    "Case-control design limits causal inference",
    "Small sample size (36 per group)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "IEI-EMF",
    "idiopathic environmental intolerance",
    "electromagnetic fields",
    "magnetic field",
    "sham exposure",
    "medically unexplained symptoms",
    "health anxiety",
    "somatosensory amplification",
    "body awareness",
    "nocebo"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Study concerns symptoms attributed to EMF exposure (IEI-EMF), relevant to broader EMF health evidence discussions."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1111/sjop.12271
PubMed: 26861662

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