EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2015 for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of EMF-Related Health Problems and Illnesses
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Rev Environ Health 2015; 30(4): 337–371 Igor Belyaev, Amy Dean, Horst Eger, Gerhard Hubmann, Reinhold Jandrisovits, Olle Johansson, Markus Kern, Michael Kundi, Piero Lercher, Wilhelm Mosgöller, Hanns Moshammer, Kurt Müller, Gerd Oberfeld*, Peter Ohnsorge, Peter Pelzmann, Claus Scheingraber and Roby Thill EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2015 for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EMF-related health problems and illnesses DOI 10.1515/reveh-2015-0033 health effects, raising new challenges for medicine and Received October 1, 2015; accepted October 13, 2015 society. For instance, the issue of so-called non-thermal effects and potential long-term effects of low-dose expo- Abstract: Chronic diseases and illnesses associated sure were scarcely investigated prior to the introduction of with unspecific symptoms are on the rise. In addition to these technologies. Common EMF sources include Wi-Fi chronic stress in social and work environments, physi- access points, routers and clients, cordless and mobile cal and chemical exposures at home, at work, and during phones including their base stations, Bluetooth devices, leisure activities are causal or contributing environmen- ELF magnetic fields from net currents, ELF electric fields tal stressors that deserve attention by the general practi- from electric lamps and wiring close to the bed and office tioner as well as by all other members of the health care desk. On the one hand, there is strong evidence that long- community. It seems certainly necessary now to take “new term-exposure to certain EMF exposures is a risk factor exposures” like electromagnetic field (EMF) into account. for diseases such as certain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease Physicians are increasingly confronted with health prob- and male infertility. On the other hand, the emerging lems from unidentified causes. Studies, empirical obser- electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is more and more vations, and patient reports clearly indicate interactions recognized by health authorities, disability administra- between EMF exposure and health problems. Individual tors and case workers, politicians, as well as courts of susceptibility and environmental factors are frequently law. We recommend treating EHS clinically as part of the neglected. New wireless technologies and applications group of chronic multisystem illnesses (CMI) leading to have been introduced without any certainty about their a functional impairment (EHS), but still recognizing that European Academy for Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM) – EMF Markus Kern: Medical Quality Circle “Electromagnetic Fields in working group: Medicine – Diagnosis, Treatment and Environment”, Kempten, *Corresponding author: Gerd Oberfeld, Department of Public Germany; and Kompetenzinitiative zum Schutz von Mensch, Health, Government of Land Salzburg, Austria, Umwelt u. Demokratie e.V, Kempten, Germany E-mail: [email protected] Michael Kundi and Hanns Moshammer: Institute of Environmental Igor Belyaev: Cancer Research Institute, Slovak Academy of Science, Health, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria Bratislava, Slovak Republic; and Prokhorov General Physics Piero Lercher: Medical Association Vienna, Environmental Medicine Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia Department, Vienna, Austria Amy Dean: American Academy of Environmental Medicine, Wilhelm Mosgöller: Institute of Cancer Research Medical University Wichita, Kansas, USA Vienna, Vienna, Austria Horst Eger: Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Kurt Müller: European Academy for Environmental Medicine, of Bavaria, Medical Quality Circle “Electromagnetic Fields in Kempten, Germany Medicine – Diagnostic, Therapy, Environment”, Naila, Germany Peter Ohnsorge: European Academy for Environmental Medicine, Gerhard Hubmann: Center for Holistic Medicine “MEDICUS”, Vienna, Würzburg, Germany Austria; and Wiener Internationale Akademie für Ganzheitsmedizin Peter Pelzmann: Department of electronics and computer science (GAMED), Vienna, Austria engineering, HTL Danube City, Vienna, Austria Reinhold Jandrisovits: Medical Association Burgenland, Claus Scheingraber: Working Group Electro-Biology (AEB), Munich, Environmental Medicine Department, Eisenstadt, Austria Germany; and Association for Environmental- and Human-Toxicology Olle Johansson: The Experimental Dermatology Unit, (DGUHT), Würzburg, Germany Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Roby Thill: Association for Environmental Medicine (ALMEN) Sweden Beaufort, Luxembourg Brought to you by | Karolinska Institute Authenticated Download Date | 12/3/15 7:14 PM 338 Belyaev et al.: EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2015 the underlying cause remains the environment. In the infertility; leukemia; magnetic; medical guideline; nitro- beginning, EHS symptoms often occur only occasionally, sative stress; nonionizing; oxidative stress; peroxynitrite; but over time they may increase in frequency and severity. prevention; radiation; static; therapy; treatment. Common EHS symptoms include headaches, concentra- tion difficulties, sleeping problems, depression, lack of energy, fatigue and flu-like symptoms. A comprehensive medical history, which should include all symptoms and Current state of the scientific and their occurrences in spatial and temporal terms and in political debate from a medical the context of EMF exposures, is the key to the diagnosis. The EMF exposure can be assessed by asking for typical perspective sources like Wi-Fi access points, routers and clients, cord- less and mobile phones and measurements at home and Introduction at work. It is very important to take the individual suscep- tibility into account. The primary method of treatment The Environmental Burden of Disease Project assessed should mainly focus on the prevention or reduction of the influence of nine environmental stressors (benzene, EMF exposure, that is, reducing or eliminating all sources dioxins including furans and dioxin-like PCBs, second- of EMF at home and in the workplace. The reduction of hand smoke, formaldehyde, lead, noise, ozone, particu- EMF exposure should also be extended to public spaces late matter and radon) on the health of the population of such as schools, hospitals, public transport, and libraries six countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, to enable persons with EHS an unhindered use (accessi- and the Netherlands). Those nine environmental stressors bility measure). If a detrimental EMF exposure is reduced caused 3%–7% of the annual burden of disease in the six sufficiently, the body has a chance to recover and EHS European countries (1). symptoms will be reduced or even disappear. Many exam- The Bundespsychotherapeutenkammer (BPtK) study ples have shown that such measures can prove effective. in Germany showed that mental disorders had increased Also the survival rate of children with leukemia depends further and especially burnout as a reason of inability on ELF magnetic field exposure at home. To increase the to work escalated seven-fold from 2004 to 2011 (2). In effectiveness of the treatment, the broad range of other Germany, 42% of early retirements in 2012 were caused by environmental factors that contribute to the total body mental disorders, depression being the leading diagnosis burden should also be addressed. Anything that supports (3). In Germany, psychotropic drugs are at third place for a balanced homeostasis will increase a person’s resilience the prescriptions of all drugs (4). against disease and thus against the adverse effects of EMF The consumption of methylphenidate (Ritalin, exposure. There is increasing evidence that EMF exposure Medikinet, Concerta), a psychotropic drug prescribed as has a major impact on the oxidative and nitrosative regu- a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder lation capacity in affected individuals. This concept also (ADHD) especially for young children and adolescents, may explain why the level of susceptibility to EMF can has increased alarmingly since the early 1990s. Accord- change and why the number of symptoms reported in the ing to statistics of the German Federal Institute for Drugs context of EMF exposures is so large. Based on our current and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel understanding, a treatment approach that minimizes the und Medizinprodukte), prescriptions have increased adverse effects of peroxynitrite – as has been increasingly even more dramatically since 2000 and reached a climax used in the treatment of multisystem disorders – works in 2012. In 2013, only a slight decline in the number of best. This EMF Guideline gives an overview of the current prescriptions was observed (5). Interestingly the rapid knowledge regarding EMF-related health risks and pro- increase in the use of methylphenidate coincides with vides concepts for the diagnosis and treatment and acces- the enormous expansion of mobile telecommunication sibility measures of EHS to improve and restore individual and other related technologies, posing an open research health outcomes as well as for the development of strate- question. gies for prevention. In Germany, work disability cases and absence days due to mental health disorders more than doubled from Keywords: accessability measures; alternating; 1994 to 2011 (6). In OECD countries, a huge variability Alzheimer’s; cancer; chronic multisystem illnesses (CMI); in the prescription of antidepressants has occurred and diagnosis; electric; electromagnetic field (EMF); electro- generally an increasing trend has been