Study type: Medical/biological study (observational study)

Disturbed sleep in individuals with Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): Melatonin assessment as a biological marker med./bio.

Published in: Bioelectromagnetics 2016; 37 (3): 175-182

Aim of study (acc. to author)

The differences between electrosensitive and healthy subjects regarding sleep quality and the melatonin level in saliva and urine should be investigated.

Background/further details

30 electrosensitive and 25 healthy subjects participated in the study. Subjects collected their two first saliva samples at home. The first sample was collected before bedtime on the day prior to the experiment. The second sample was taken 5 min after they woke up in the morning of the experiment day before coming to laboratory. Participants arrived at the laboratory around 09:00 and spent their waking time there. Saliva was then collected every 30 min from 10:00 to 11:30 and from 14:00 to 16:30. Total urine was collected overnight from 20:00 on the previous day to wake-up time as the night fraction, and from wake-up time to 16:30 as the daytime fraction.

Endpoint

Exposure

Exposure Parameters
Exposure 1:
  • unspecified
-

General information

no exposure; during the time in the laboratory, participants were located inside a dimly lit, electrically shielded room serving as a Faraday cage allowing electrosensitive participants to be in an environment without EMFs

Exposure 1

Main characteristics
Frequency
  • unspecified
Exposure setup
Parameters

No parameters are specified for this exposure.

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

Investigated system:

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

The subjective sleep quality was significantly lower in electrosensitive subjects than in healthy subjects, while there were no differences observed in sleepiness.
However, no statistical difference was found between the two groups for saliva melatonin and urine hydroxymelatoninsulfate levels.
The authors conclude that the present results show no association between the melatonin level in saliva and urine and a reduced subjective sleep quality in electrosensitive persons.

Study character:

Study funded by

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