Browsing by Author "Röösli, Martin"
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- ItemCellular telephone use and time trends in brain tumour mortality in Switzerland from 1969 to 2002.(2007-01-15) Röösli, Martin; Michel, Gisela; Kuehni, Claudia E; Spoerri, AdrianA rising concern exists that with the widespread use of mobile communication technologies the incidence of brain tumours may increase On the basis of data from the Swiss national mortality registry from 1969 to 2002 annual age standardized brain tumour mortality rates per 100 000 person years were calculated using the European standard population Time trend analyses were performed by the Poisson regression for six different age groups in men and women separately The study period was divided into two intervals before and after 1987 when the analogue mobile technology was introduced in Switzerland Age standardized brain tumour mortality rates ranged between 3 7 and 6 7 for men and 2 5 and 4 4 for women per 100 000 person years For the whole study period a significant increase in brain tumour mortality was observed for men and women in the older age groups 60 74 and 75 years but not in the younger ones in whom mobile phone use was more prevalent Time trend analyses restricted to data from 1987 onwards revealed relatively stable brain tumour mortality rates in all age groups For instance the annual change in brain tumour mortality rate for the 45 59 year age group was 0 3 95 confidence interval 1 7 1 1 for men and 0 4 95 confidence interval 2 2 1 3 for women We conclude that after the introduction of mobile phone technology in Switzerland brain tumour mortality rates remained stable in all age groups Our results suggest that mobile phone use is not a strong risk factor in the short term for mortality from brain tumours Ecological analyses like this however are limited in their ability to reveal potentially small increases in risk for diseases with a long latency period
- ItemChildhood brain tumours and use of mobile phones: comparison of a case-control study with incidence data.(2012-07-27) Aydin, Denis; Feychting, Maria; Schüz, Joachim; Röösli, Martin; ,The first case control study on mobile phone use and brain tumour risk among children and adolescents CEFALO study has recently been published In a commentary published in Environmental Health S derqvist and colleagues argued that CEFALO suggests an increased brain tumour risk in relation to wireless phone use In this article we respond and show why consistency checks of case control study results with observed time trends of incidence rates are essential given the well described limitations of case control studies and the steep increase of mobile phone use among children and adolescents during the last decade There is no plausible explanation of how a notably increased risk from use of wireless phones would correspond to the relatively stable incidence time trends for brain tumours among children and adolescents observed in the Nordic countries Nevertheless an increased risk restricted to heavy mobile phone use to very early life exposure or to rare subtypes of brain tumours may be compatible with stable incidence trends at this time and thus further monitoring of childhood brain tumour incidence rate time trends is warranted
- ItemChildren's exposure assessment of radiofrequency fields: Comparison between spot and personal measurements.(0000-00-00) Gallastegi, Mara; Huss, Anke; Santa-Marina, Loreto; Aurrekoetxea, Juan J; Guxens, Mònica; Birks, Laura Ellen; Ibarluzea, Jesús; Guerra, David; Röösli, Martin; Jiménez-Zabala, AnaINTRODUCTION Radiofrequency RF fields are widely used and while it is still unknown whether children are more vulnerable to this type of exposure it is essential to explore their level of exposure in order to conduct adequate epidemiological studies Personal measurements provide individualized information but they are costly in terms of time and resources especially in large epidemiological studies Other approaches such as estimation of time weighted averages TWAs based on spot measurements could simplify the work OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were to assess RF exposure in the Spanish INMA birth cohort by spot measurements and by personal measurements in the settings where children tend to spend most of their time i e homes schools and parks to identify the settings and sources that contribute most to that exposure and to explore if exposure assessment based on spot measurements is a valid proxy for personal exposure METHODS When children were 8 years old spot measurements were conducted in the principal settings of 104 participants homes 104 schools and their playgrounds 26 and parks 79 At the same time personal measurements were taken for a subsample of 50 children during 3 days Exposure assessment based on personal and on spot measurements were compared both in terms of mean exposures and in exposure dependent categories by means of Bland Altman plots Cohen s kappa and McNemar test RESULTS Median exposure levels ranged from 29 73 in children s bedrooms to 200 10 W m2 in school playgrounds for spot measurements and were higher outdoors than indoors Median personal exposure was 52 13 W m2 and median levels of assessments based on spot measurements ranged from 25 46 to 123 21 W m2 Based on spot measurements the sources that contributed most to the exposure were FM radio mobile phone downlink and Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial while indoor and personal sources contributed very little altogether Under20 Similar distribution was observed with personal measurements There was a bias proportional to power density between personal measurements and estimates based on spot measurements with the latter providing higher exposure estimates Nevertheless there were no systematic differences between those methodologies when classifying subjects into exposure categories Personal measurements of total RF exposure showed low to moderate agreement with home and bedroom spot measurements and agreed better though moderately with TWA based on spot measurements in the main settings where children spend time homes schools and parks Kappa 0 46 CONCLUSIONS Exposure assessment based on spot measurements could be a feasible proxy to rank personal RF exposure in children population providing that all relevant locations are being measured
- ItemCombining near- and far-field exposure for an organ-specific and whole-body RF-EMF proxy for epidemiological research: a reference case.(2013-06-05) Lauer, Oliver; Frei, Patrizia; Gosselin, Marie-Christine; Joseph, Wout; Röösli, Martin; Fröhlich, JürgA framework for the combination of near field NF and far field FF radio frequency electromagnetic exposure sources to the average organ and whole body specific absorption rates SARs is presented As a reference case values based on numerically derived SARs for whole body and individual organs and tissues are combined with realistic exposure data which have been collected using personal exposure meters during the Swiss Qualifex study The framework presented can be applied to any study region where exposure data is collected by appropriate measurement equipment Based on results derived from the data for the region of Basel Switzerland the relative importance of NF and FF sources to the personal exposure is examined for three different study groups The results show that a 24 h whole body averaged exposure of a typical mobile phone user is dominated by the use of his or her own mobile phone when a Global System for Mobile Communications GSM 900 or GSM 1800 phone is used If only Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UMTS phones are used the user would experience a lower exposure level on average caused by the lower average output power of UMTS phones Data presented clearly indicate the necessity of collecting band selective exposure data in epidemiological studies related to electromagnetic fields
- ItemConsultations in primary care for symptoms attributed to electromagnetic fields--a survey among general practitioners.(2006-11-10) Huss, Anke; Röösli, MartinBACKGROUND Five percent of the Swiss population attribute symptoms to electromagnetic fields EMF General practitioners GPs might play a key role in recognising an emerging health risk since they are the first to observe and follow up persons who attribute symptoms to EMF It is unclear to what extent EMFs have become an issue in general practice and which experiences GPs report from the consultations METHODS We conducted telephone interviews in a random sample of GPs in Switzerland in order to assess the frequency of consultations in primary care due to EMF and the GPs experience with these patients RESULTS 342 general practitioners were interviewed corresponding to a response rate of 28 2 69 of the GPs reported at least one consultation due to EMF but GPs with a certificate in complementary medicine were much more likely to report EMF consultations The median of EMF consultation numbers within one year was three An overview of the most recent EMF related consultation per GP yielded sleep disorders headaches and fatigue as the most often reported symptoms and mobile phone base stations power lines and the own use of mobile phones as the main EMF sources suspected to be associated to symptoms GPs judged the association between EMF and the symptoms to be plausible in 54 of the cases There was no combination of symptoms and EMF sources that was remarkably and consistently judged to be a plausible cause of the symptoms CONCLUSION In our survey GPs often judged the association between the health problems and the suspected exposure to be plausible This plausibility assessment seems to be based on grounds of preventive positions in a situation of scientific uncertainty More research effort is needed to obtain more insight on a potential association between long term EMF exposure and unspecific symptoms
- ItemDealing with crosstalk in electromagnetic field measurements of portable devices.(0000-00-00) Eeftens, Marloes; Struchen, Benjamin; Roser, Katharina; Zahner, Marco; Fröhlich, Jürg; Röösli, MartinPortable devices measuring radiofrequency electromagnetic fields RF EMF are affected by crosstalk signals originating in one frequency band that are unintentionally registered in another If this is not corrected total exposure to RF EMF is biased particularly affecting closely spaced frequency bands such as GSM 1800 downlink 1 805 1 880 MHz DECT 1 880 1 900 MHz and UMTS uplink 1 920 1 980 MHz This study presents an approach to detect and correct crosstalk in RF EMF measurements taking into account the real life setting in which crosstalk is intermittently present depending on the exact frequency of the signal Personal measurements from 115 volunteers from Zurich canton Switzerland were analyzed Crosstalk affected observations were identified by correlation analysis and replaced by the median value of the unaffected observations measured during the same activity DECT is frequently a victim of crosstalk and an average of 43 of observations was corrected resulting in an average exposure reduction of 38 GSM 1800 downlink and UMTS uplink were less often corrected 6 9 and 8 9 resulting in minor reductions in exposure 7 1 and 0 92 The contribution of DECT to total RF EMF exposure is typically already low 3 2 but is further reduced after correction 3 0 Crosstalk corrections reduced the total exposure by 1 0 on average Some individuals had a larger reduction of up to 16 The code developed to make the corrections is provided for free as an R function which is easily applied to any time series of EMF measurements Bioelectromagnetics 39 529 538 2018 2018 Wiley Periodicals Inc
- ItemFeasibility of future epidemiological studies on possible health effects of mobile phone base stations.(2007-03-20) Neubauer, Georg; Feychting, Maria; Hamnerius, Yngve; Kheifets, Leeka; Kuster, Niels; Ruiz, Ignacio; Schüz, Joachim; Uberbacher, Richard; Wiart, Joe; Röösli, MartinThe increasing deployment of mobile communication base stations led to an increasing demand for epidemiological studies on possible health effects of radio frequency emissions The methodological challenges of such studies have been critically evaluated by a panel of scientists in the fields of radiofrequency engineering dosimetry and epidemiology Strengths and weaknesses of previous studies have been identified Dosimetric concepts and crucial aspects in exposure assessment were evaluated in terms of epidemiological studies on different types of outcomes We conclude that in principle base station epidemiological studies are feasible However the exposure contributions from all relevant radio frequency sources have to be taken into account The applied exposure assessment method should be piloted and validated Short to medium term effects on physiology or health related quality of life are best investigated by cohort studies For long term effects groups with a potential for high exposure need to first be identified for immediate effect human laboratory studies are the preferred approach
- Item[Health effects of electromagnetic fields].(2013-12-03) Röösli, MartinUse of electricity causes extremely low frequency magnetic fields ELF MF and wireless communication devices emit radiofrequency electromagnetic fields RF EMF Average ELF MF exposure is mainly determined by high voltage power lines and transformers at home or at the workplace whereas RF EMF exposure is mainly caused by devices operating close to the body mainly mobile and cordless phones Health effects of EMF are controversially discussed The IARC classified ELF MF and RF EMF as possible carcinogenic Most consistent epidemiological evidence was found for an association between ELF MF and childhood leukaemia If causal 1 4 percent of all childhood leukaemia cases could be attributed to ELF MF Epidemiological research provided some indications for an association between ELF MF and Alzheimer s diseases as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis although not entirely consistent Regarding mobile phones and brain tumours some studies observed an increased risk after heavy or long term use on the one hand On the other hand brain tumour incidence was not found to have increased in the last decade in Sweden England or the US Acute effects of RF EMF on non specific symptoms of ill health seem unlikely according to randomized and double blind provocation studies However epidemiological research on long term effects is still limited Although from the current state of the scientific knowledge a large individual health risk from RF EMF exposure is unlikely even a small risk would have substantial public health relevance because of the widespread use of wireless communication technologies
- ItemImpact of one's own mobile phone in stand-by mode on personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure.(2013-08-21) Urbinello, Damiano; Röösli, MartinWhen moving around mobile phones in stand by mode periodically send data about their positions The aim of this paper is to evaluate how personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field RF EMF measurements are affected by such location updates Exposure from a mobile phone handset uplink was measured during commuting by using a randomized cross over study with three different scenarios disabled mobile phone reference an activated dual band phone and a quad band phone In the reference scenario uplink exposure was highest during train rides 1 19 mW m 2 and lowest during car rides in rural areas 0 001 mW m 2 In public transports the impact of one s own mobile phone on personal RF EMF measurements was not observable because of high background uplink radiation from other people s mobile phone In a car uplink exposure with an activated phone was orders of magnitude higher compared with the reference scenario This study demonstrates that personal RF EMF exposure is affected by one s own mobile phone in stand by mode because of its regular location update Further dosimetric studies should quantify the contribution of location updates to the total RF EMF exposure in order to clarify whether the duration of mobile phone use the most common exposure surrogate in the epidemiological RF EMF research is actually an adequate exposure proxy
- ItemImpact of random and systematic recall errors and selection bias in case--control studies on mobile phone use and brain tumors in adolescents (CEFALO study).(2011-05-23) Aydin, Denis; Feychting, Maria; Schüz, Joachim; Andersen, Tina Veje; Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Prochazka, Michaela; Klaeboe, Lars; Kuehni, Claudia E; Tynes, Tore; Röösli, MartinWhether the use of mobile phones is a risk factor for brain tumors in adolescents is currently being studied Case control studies investigating this possible relationship are prone to recall error and selection bias We assessed the potential impact of random and systematic recall error and selection bias on odds ratios ORs by performing simulations based on real data from an ongoing case control study of mobile phones and brain tumor risk in children and adolescents CEFALO study Simulations were conducted for two mobile phone exposure categories regular and heavy use Our choice of levels of recall error was guided by a validation study that compared objective network operator data with the self reported amount of mobile phone use in CEFALO In our validation study cases overestimated their number of calls by 9 on average and controls by 34 Cases also overestimated their duration of calls by 52 on average and controls by 163 The participation rates in CEFALO were 83 for cases and 71 for controls In a variety of scenarios the combined impact of recall error and selection bias on the estimated ORs was complex These simulations are useful for the interpretation of previous case control studies on brain tumor and mobile phone use in adults as well as for the interpretation of future studies on adolescents
- ItemMobile phone base station exposure and symptoms.(2008-02-21) Röösli, Martin; Huss, Anke
- ItemMobile phone use and brain tumors in children and adolescents: a multicenter case-control study.(2011-08-17) Aydin, Denis; Feychting, Maria; Schüz, Joachim; Tynes, Tore; Andersen, Tina Veje; Schmidt, Lisbeth Samsø; Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Johansen, Christoffer; Prochazka, Michaela; Lannering, Birgitta; Klæboe, Lars; Eggen, Tone; Jenni, Daniela; Grotzer, Michael; Von der Weid, Nicolas; Kuehni, Claudia E; Röösli, MartinIt has been hypothesized that children and adolescents might be more vulnerable to possible health effects from mobile phone exposure than adults We investigated whether mobile phone use is associated with brain tumor risk among children and adolescents
- ItemMobile phone use and risk of intracranial tumors: a consistency analysis.(2014-01-09) Lagorio, Susanna; Röösli, MartinA meta analysis of studies on intracranial tumors and mobile phone use published by the end of 2012 was performed to evaluate the overall consistency of findings assess the sensitivity of results to changes in the dataset and try to detect the sources of between study heterogeneity Twenty nine papers met our inclusion criteria These papers reported on 47 eligible studies 17 on glioma 15 on meningioma 15 on acoustic neuroma consisting of either primary investigations or pooled analyses Five combinations of non overlapping studies per outcome were identified The combined relative risks cRRs in long term mobile phone users 10 years ranged between 0 98 0 75 1 28 and 1 11 0 86 1 44 for meningioma with little heterogeneity across studies High heterogeneity was detected across estimates of glioma and acoustic neuroma risk in long term users with cRRs ranging between 1 19 95 CI 0 86 1 64 and 1 40 0 96 2 04 and from 1 14 0 65 1 99 to 1 33 0 65 2 73 respectively A meta regression of primary studies showed that the methodological differences embedded in the variable study group explained most of the overall heterogeneity in results Summary risk estimates based on heterogeneous findings should not be over interpreted Overall the results of our study detract from the hypothesis that mobile phone use affects the occurrence of intracranial tumors However reproducibility or lack of is just one clue in the critical appraisal of epidemiological evidence Based on other considerations such as the limited knowledge currently available on risk beyond 15 years from first exposure or following mobile phone use started in childhood the pursuance of epidemiological surveillance is warranted
- ItemNight-time screen-based media device use and adolescents' sleep and health-related quality of life.(0000-00-00) Mireku, Michael O; Barker, Mary M; Mutz, Julian; Dumontheil, Iroise; Thomas, Michael S C; Röösli, Martin; Elliott, Paul; Toledano, Mireille BOBJECTIVE The present study investigates the relationship between night time screen based media devices SBMD use which refers to use within 1 h before sleep in both lit and dark rooms and sleep outcomes and health related quality of life HRQoL among 11 to 12 year olds METHODS We analysed baseline data from a large cohort of 6616 adolescents from 39 schools in and around London United Kingdom participating in the Study of Cognition Adolescents and Mobile Phone SCAMP Adolescents self reported their use of any SBMD mobile phone tablet laptop television etc Sleep variables were derived from self reported weekday and or weekend bedtime sleep onset latency SOL and wake time Sleep quality was assessed using four standardised dimensions from the Swiss Health Survey HRQoL was estimated using the KIDSCREEN 10 questionnaire RESULTS Over two thirds 71 5 of adolescents reported using at least one SBMD at night time and about a third 32 2 reported using mobile phones at night time in darkness Night time mobile phone and television use was associated with higher odds of insufficient sleep duration on weekdays Odds Ratio OR 1 82 95 Confidence Interval CI 1 59 2 07 and OR 1 40 95 CI 1 23 1 60 respectively Adolescents who used mobile phones in a room with light were more likely to have insufficient sleep OR 1 32 95 CI 1 10 1 60 and later sleep midpoint OR 1 64 95 CI 1 37 1 95 on weekends compared to non users The magnitude of these associations was even stronger for those who used mobile phones in darkness for insufficient sleep duration on weekdays OR 2 13 95 CI 1 79 2 54 and for later sleep midpoint on weekdays OR 3 88 95 CI 3 25 4 62 compared to non users Night time use of mobile phones was associated with lower HRQoL and use in a dark room was associated with even lower KIDSCREEN 10 score 1 18 95 CI 1 85 0 52 compared to no use CONCLUSIONS We found consistent associations between night time SBMD use and poor sleep outcomes and worse HRQoL in adolescents The magnitude of these associations was stronger when SBMD use occurred in a dark room versus a lit room
- ItemA prediction model for personal radio frequency electromagnetic field exposure.(2009-11-02) Frei, Patrizia; Mohler, Evelyn; Bürgi, Alfred; Fröhlich, Jürg; Neubauer, Georg; Braun-Fahrländer, Charlotte; Röösli, Martin; ,Radio frequency electromagnetic fields RF EMF in our daily life are caused by numerous sources such as fixed site transmitters e g mobile phone base stations or indoor devices e g cordless phones The objective of this study was to develop a prediction model which can be used to predict mean RF EMF exposure from different sources for a large study population in epidemiological research We collected personal RF EMF exposure measurements of 166 volunteers from Basel Switzerland by means of portable exposure meters which were carried during one week For a validation study we repeated exposure measurements of 31 study participants 21 weeks after the measurements of the first week on average These second measurements were not used for the model development We used two data sources as exposure predictors 1 a questionnaire on potentially exposure relevant characteristics and behaviors and 2 modeled RF EMF from fixed site transmitters mobile phone base stations broadcast transmitters at the participants place of residence using a geospatial propagation model Relevant exposure predictors which were identified by means of multiple regression analysis were the modeled RF EMF at the participants home from the propagation model housing characteristics ownership of communication devices wireless LAN mobile and cordless phones and behavioral aspects such as amount of time spent in public transports The proportion of variance explained R2 by the final model was 0 52 The analysis of the agreement between calculated and measured RF EMF showed a sensitivity of 0 56 and a specificity of 0 95 cut off 90th percentile In the validation study the sensitivity and specificity of the model were 0 67 and 0 96 respectively We could demonstrate that it is feasible to model personal RF EMF exposure Most importantly our validation study suggests that the model can be used to assess average exposure over several months
- ItemPredictors and overestimation of recalled mobile phone use among children and adolescents.(2011-11-29) Aydin, Denis; Feychting, Maria; Schüz, Joachim; Andersen, Tina Veje; Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Prochazka, Michaela; Klæboe, Lars; Kuehni, Claudia E; Tynes, Tore; Röösli, MartinA growing body of literature addresses possible health effects of mobile phone use in children and adolescents by relying on the study participants retrospective reconstruction of mobile phone use In this study we used data from the international case control study CEFALO to compare self reported with objectively operator recorded mobile phone use The aim of the study was to assess predictors of level of mobile phone use as well as factors that are associated with overestimating own mobile phone use For cumulative number and duration of calls as well as for time since first subscription we calculated the ratio of self reported to operator recorded mobile phone use We used multiple linear regression models to assess possible predictors of the average number and duration of calls per day and logistic regression models to assess possible predictors of overestimation The cumulative number and duration of calls as well as the time since first subscription of mobile phones were overestimated on average by the study participants Likelihood to overestimate number and duration of calls was not significantly different for controls compared to cases OR 1 1 95 CI 0 5 to 2 5 and OR 1 9 95 CI 0 85 to 4 3 respectively However likelihood to overestimate was associated with other health related factors such as age and sex As a consequence such factors act as confounders in studies relying solely on self reported mobile phone use and have to be considered in the analysis
- ItemThe prevalence of symptoms attributed to electromagnetic field exposure: a cross-sectional representative survey in Switzerland.(2006-12-29) Schreier, Nadja; Huss, Anke; Röösli, MartinTo investigate health risk perception as well as to assess the prevalence of self reported symptoms attributed to electromagnetic fields EMF and other environmental exposures in the general population of Switzerland
- ItemSource of funding and results of studies of health effects of mobile phone use: systematic review of experimental studies.(2008-09-24) Huss, Anke; Egger, Mathias; Egger, Matthias; Hug, Kerstin; Huwiler-Müntener, Karin; Röösli, Martin; Gomes, Doris; Da Ros, Marco Aurélio
- ItemSource of funding and results of studies of health effects of mobile phone use: systematic review of experimental studies.(2007-03-19) Huss, Anke; Egger, Matthias; Hug, Kerstin; Huwiler-Müntener, Karin; Röösli, MartinThere is concern regarding the possible health effects of cellular telephone use We examined whether the source of funding of studies of the effects of low level radiofrequency radiation is associated with the results of studies We conducted a systematic review of studies of controlled exposure to radiofrequency radiation with health related outcomes electroencephalogram cognitive or cardiovascular function hormone levels symptoms and subjective well being
- ItemStatistical analysis of personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field measurements with nondetects.(2008-08-11) Röösli, Martin; Frei, Patrizia; Mohler, Evelyn; Braun-Fahrländer, Charlotte; Bürgi, Alfred; Fröhlich, Jürg; Neubauer, Georg; Theis, Gaston; Egger, MatthiasExposimeters are increasingly applied in bioelectromagnetic research to determine personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field RF EMF exposure The main advantages of exposimeter measurements are their convenient handling for study participants and the large amount of personal exposure data which can be obtained for several RF EMF sources However the large proportion of measurements below the detection limit is a challenge for data analysis With the robust ROS regression on order statistics method summary statistics can be calculated by fitting an assumed distribution to the observed data We used a preliminary sample of 109 weekly exposimeter measurements from the QUALIFEX study to compare summary statistics computed by robust ROS with a na ve approach where values below the detection limit were replaced by the value of the detection limit For the total RF EMF exposure differences between the na ve approach and the robust ROS were moderate for the 90th percentile and the arithmetic mean However exposure contributions from minor RF EMF sources were considerably overestimated with the na ve approach This results in an underestimation of the exposure range in the population which may bias the evaluation of potential exposure response associations We conclude from our analyses that summary statistics of exposimeter data calculated by robust ROS are more reliable and more informative than estimates based on a na ve approach Nevertheless estimates of source specific medians or even lower percentiles depend on the assumed data distribution and should be considered with caution