Heart rate variability in healthy young adults exposed to global system for mobile communication (GSM) 900-MHz radiofrequency signal from mobile phones

Jasmina Wallace (1, 2) , Soafara Andrianome (1, 2) , Rania Ghosn (1, 2) , Erwan Stephan (2) , Frédéric Telliez (2) , Brahim Selmaoui (1, 2)

1 INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques
2 PERITOX - Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques - UMR INERIS_I 1

Given the large number of mobile phone users and the increasing exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) worldwide, we aimed to study the effect of RF-EMF related to mobile phones on heart rate variability (HRV). Twenty-six healthy young adults participated in two experimental sessions with a double-blind, randomized and counter-balanced crossover design. During each session, participants were exposed for 26 min to a sham or real 900 MHz RF-EMF, generated by a commercial dual-band Global System for Mobile technology (GSM) mobile phone. We recorded an electrocardiogram at rest during the exposure. We evaluated HRV by time- and frequency-domain analysis. Evaluation of time-domain HRV parameters revealed a statistically significant increase of the standard deviation of interbeat intervals (SDNN) during the real exposure. Other time-domain parameters were not affected. Analysis in the frequency-domain demonstrated that total spectral power and low-frequency band (LF) absolute power were significantly increased during exposure (p = .046 and p = .043, respectively). However, other parameters were not affected. In conclusion, it seems that most HRV parameters were not affected by GSM signal exposure in our study. The weak effect observed on HRV frequency-domain is likely to represent a random occurrence rather than a real effect.

Keywords: RADIOFREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS; MOBILE PHONES; AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM; HEART RATE VARIABILITY; ELECTROCARDIOGRAM

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Toxicology

Jasmina Wallace, Soafara Andrianome, Rania Ghosn, Erwan Stephan, Frédéric Telliez, et al.. Heart rate variability in healthy young adults exposed to global system for mobile communication (GSM) 900-MHz radiofrequency signal from mobile phones. Environmental Research, 2020, 191, pp.art. 110097. ⟨10.1016/j.envres.2020.110097⟩. ⟨ineris-03230217⟩