The Mobile Phone Electromagnetic Radiation Effects on Heart Rate Variability Function
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: The proliferation of mobile phone usage has given rise to concerns about the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF), particularly in relation to heart rate variability (HRV), a key indicator of cardiac health. Previous studies have yielded inconsistent results using lower-order statistical measures, leaving a gap in understanding the nonlinear interactions between EMF exposure and HRV.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of mobile phone EMF on HRV by employing bicoherence analysis of ECG data. It sought to determine whether the position of EMF exposure relative to the heart and the duration of exposure affected HRV parameters.
Methods: Twenty subjects were recruited for the study, with ECG and EEG data collected under EMF and non-EMF conditions. ECG data were captured using a 12-lead system, with electrodes placed according to standard guidelines. EEG electrodes were positioned following the 10-20 system. Bicoherence and coherence analyses were conducted to assess nonlinear interactions in HRV activity and the relationship between heart and brain signals. The study also considered the duration of EMF exposure, comparing the effects of 10-minute and 40-minute sessions.
Results: The bicoherence values for ECG data during EMF exposure at the left ear showed negligible differences, with values ranging between 0.0 to 0.04. However, chest positions V1 and V2 revealed statistically significant larger bicoherence values during non-EMF trials as opposed to EMF trials. Coherence analysis between ECG and EEG demonstrated significantly higher values across the 16-30Hz frequency band during EMF trials. No significant differences were observed for 10-minute EMF exposure, whereas 40-minute exposure sessions indicated a correlation with changes in HRV.
Conclusion: The study's findings suggest that mobile phone EMF can affect HRV parameters, with the effects being more pronounced during longer exposure durations and when the source of EMF is closer to the heart. These results support the need for guidelines on safe mobile phone usage and further research into the effects of EMF on cardiac function.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Qin H, Keenan BT, Mazzotti DR, Vaquerizo-Villar F, Kraemer JF, Wessel N, et al. Heart rate variability during wakefulness as a marker of obstructive sleep apnea severity. Sleep. 2021;44(5):zsab018.
Schuermann D, Mevissen M. Manmade electromagnetic fields and oxidative stress—biological effects and consequences for health. International journal of molecular sciences. 2021;22(7):3772.
Schuman DL, Lawrence KA, Boggero I, Naegele P, Ginsberg J, Casto A, et al. A pilot study of a three-session heart rate variability biofeedback intervention for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 2023;48(1):51-65.
Pham T, Lau ZJ, Chen SA, Makowski D. Heart rate variability in psychology: A review of HRV indices and an analysis tutorial. Sensors. 2021;21(12):3998.
Stephenson MD, Thompson AG, Merrigan JJ, Stone JD, Hagen JA. Applying heart rate variability to monitor health and performance in tactical personnel: A narrative review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(15):8143.
Turppa E, Kortelainen JM, Antropov O, Kiuru T. Vital sign monitoring using FMCW radar in various sleeping scenarios. Sensors. 2020;20(22):6505.
Vlasinova J, Novotný T. Pacemaker dysfunction during use of a mobile telephone. Vnitrni Lekarstvi. 2000;46(2):119-21.
Milstein N, Gordon I. Validating measures of electrodermal activity and heart rate variability derived from the empatica E4 utilized in research settings that involve interactive dyadic states. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2020;14:148.
Wang F, Zhang F, Wu C, Wang B, Liu KR. ViMo: Multiperson vital sign monitoring using commodity millimeter-wave radio. IEEE Internet of Things Journal. 2020;8(3):1294-307.
Laborde S, Ackermann S, Borges U, d’Agostini M, Giraudier M, Iskra M, et al. Leveraging Vagally-mediated Heart-rate Variability as an Actionable, Non-invasive Biomarker for. 2023.
Martel J, Chang S-H, Chevalier G, Ojcius DM, Young JD. Influence of electromagnetic fields on the circadian rhythm: Implications for human health and disease. biomedical journal. 2023;46(1):48-59.
Kostoff RN, Heroux P, Aschner M, Tsatsakis A. Adverse health effects of 5G mobile networking technology under real-life conditions. Toxicology Letters. 2020;323:35-40.
Hu C, Zuo H. Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation on neurotransmitters in the brain. Frontiers in public health. 2021;9:691880.
Hirata A, Diao Y, Onishi T, Sasaki K, Ahn S, Colombi D, et al. Assessment of human exposure to electromagnetic fields: Review and future directions. IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility. 2021;63(5):1619-30.
Gusev M, Poposka L, Spasevski G, Kostoska M, Koteska B, Simjanoska M, et al. Noninvasive glucose measurement using machine learning and neural network methods and correlation with heart rate variability. Journal of Sensors. 2020;2020.
Baldi E, Baldi C, Lithgow BJ. A pilot investigation of the effect of extremely low frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields on humans' heart rate variability. Bioelectromagnetics: Journal of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, The Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine, The European Bioelectromagnetics Association. 2007;28(1):64-8.
Baby NM, Koshy G, Mathew A. The effect of electromagnetic radiation due to mobile phone use on thyroid function in medical students studying in a medical college in South India. Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism. 2017;21(6):797-802.
Andrzejak R, Poreba R, Poreba M, Derkacz A, Skalik R, Gac P, et al. The influence of the call with a mobile phone on heart rate variability parameters in healthy volunteers. Industrial health. 2008;46(4):409-17.
An E, Nolty AA, Amano SS, Rizzo AA, Buckwalter JG, Rensberger J. Heart rate variability as an index of resilience. Military medicine. 2020;185(3-4):363-9.
Parlato S, Centracchio J, Esposito D, Bifulco P, Andreozzi E. ECG-Free Heartbeat Detection in Seismocardiography and Gyrocardiography Signals Provides Acceptable Heart Rate Variability Indices in Healthy and Pathological Subjects. Sensors. 2023;23(19):8114.