Study type: Epidemiological study (observational study)

Psychological symptoms and health-related quality of life in idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields epidem.

Published in: J Psychosom Res 2016; 84: 8-12

Aim of study (acc. to author)

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Sweden to evaluate psychological symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in persons who attribute health problems to electromagnetic fields.

Further details

Psychological symptoms were assessed with 6 subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with 8 subscales of the SF-36 Health Survey.
Results from the anxiety, depression, and somatization subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 have been published by Johansson et al. (2010)

Endpoint/type of risk estimation

Type of risk estimation:

Exposure

Assessment

Population

Study size

Type Value
Total 218
Other:

114 partipants with IEI-EMF and 104 population-based controls without symptoms

Statistical analysis method:

Results (acc. to author)

Significantly higher scores were found on obsessive/compulsive behavior, interpersonal hypersensitivity, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid thoughts in the IEI-EMF group compared to control, whereas the difference for psychoticism was non-significant. Furthermore, significant poorer health-related quality of life in the IEI-EMF group, compared to the control group, was found regarding physical and social functioning, physical and emotional role limitations, general health, vitality, bodily pain, and mental health. Scores on several of the SCL-90 subscales were found to correlate negatively and significantly with scores on several of the SF-36 scales in both groups, i.e. psychological symptoms went along with poor health-related quality of life.
The authors conclude that IEI-EMF is associated with various types of psychological symptoms and with poor health-related quality of life.

Study funded by

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