The effects of exposure of subjects to a 50 Hz magnetic field on the heart rate variability should be investigated.
Sastre et al. 1998 found significant alterations in the heart rate variability of men by intermittent exposure to an magnetic field. These results should be verified and specified.
24 healthy young men (though only data of 18 were analyzed) participated in 3 over-night sessions, respectively. Each session was randomly dedicated to either 1) continuous exposure, 2) intermittent exposure or 3) sham exposure and each subject served as its own control. During intermittent exposure, it was analyzed if the precise timing of when the magnetic field switched on or off resulted in phase-resetting of the cardiac rhythm.
| Exposure | Parameters |
|---|---|
|
Exposure 1:
60 Hz
Exposure duration:
continuous for 8 hours (from 23.00 pm to 7.00 am)
|
|
|
Exposure 2:
60 Hz
Exposure duration:
intermittent (1 h on - 1 h off) for 8 h (from 23:00 pm to 7:00 am)
|
|
| Frequency | 60 Hz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Polarization |
|
| Exposure duration | continuous for 8 hours (from 23.00 pm to 7.00 am) |
| Exposure source | |
|---|---|
| Chamber | test room (a cube of about 2.4 m side length) |
| Setup | two Merritt coil systems placed behind the ceiling, walls and floor of the test room; the test person slept on a bed in the room with his body oriented north-south; the horizontal axis of the uniform field (about 2.5% deviation) was oriented north-south and the vertical axis was perpendicular to the floor |
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| magnetic flux density | 127.3 µT | - | - | - | - |
| Frequency | 60 Hz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Polarization |
|
| Exposure duration | intermittent (1 h on - 1 h off) for 8 h (from 23:00 pm to 7:00 am) |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| magnetic flux density | 127.3 µT | - | - | - | - |
There were no effects of continuous or intermittent exposure to 50 Hz magnetic field on the heart rate variability found in subjects.
The authors conclude that further research is needed to resolve the differences between the present and the earlier laboratory based studies and to determine if cardiac rhythm disturbances are associated with exposure to the more complex magnetic fields found in the man-made environment.
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