Follow up study on the immune response to low frequency electromagnetic fields in men and women working in a museum.

Seven women and eight men, exposed to low frequency (50 Hz) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in a museum for 20 hours a week, were investigated in the years 1999 and 2005. During the first study, the mean EMF exposure in the working place was 1.7 microT and 1.1 microT, respectively. In the first investigation, the EMF-exposed men showed reduced blood NK lymphocytes in relation to controls, while EMF-exposed women presented reduced PHA-stimulated IFN-gamma release from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In the year 2005, blood cytotoxic activity, state and trait anxiety (STAI I and II, respectively) and occupational stress were also investigated. The scores of STAI I and II of the control women were slightly higher than those of the control men. EMF-exposed men showed higher occupational stress but normal immune parameters. EMF-exposed women showed, in relation to controls, lower PHA-stimulated IFN-gamma release from PBMC and reduced blood cytotoxic activity/CD45+-CD16+-56+ NK lymphocytes (but not per ml of blood). One of the women exposed to EMF, who worked a night shift, showed marked lymphopenia with very low NK lymphocytes and reduced IFN-gamma release; these immune parameters returned to normal following a change of work site. This study suggests that low frequency EMFs affect the immune functions of women more than those of men. Moreover, the determination of immune parameters seems to be a useful marker of the health effects of exposure to EMFs.

The immune response of women with prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields produced by radiotelevision broadcasting stations.

Twelve women, five of them housewives, exposed in their residences to electromagnetic fields (EMFs)emitted by radio-television broadcasting stations for a mean period of 13 years, were investigated. The EMFs in the balconies of the homes were (mean + S.D.) 4.3 + 1.4 V/m in the year 2000 and 3.7 + 1.3 V/m in 2005, while the exposure in the nearby area was <2.0 V/m. The EMF exposed women showed in 2000 reduced blood NK lymphocytes as well as PHA stimulated PBMC proliferation and IL-2 and IFN-gamma release. In the year 2005, the EMF exposed women and 48 control women with similar ages(mean 43 years), smoking habits, atopy and social level were investigated. State (temporary) and trait(tendency of the personality) anxiety were determined by STAI I and II, respectively. Blood cytotoxic activity and lymphocyte subsets were also determined. The ratio STAI I/STAI II of the EMF exposed group was lower than that of the control group. The blood cytotoxic activity of the exposed women was lower (p<0.01), percent of B CD45+-CD19+ lymphocytes higher and percent of CD45+-CD3+-CD8+ cells lower (p<0.05). Moreover, cytotoxic activity/CD45+-CD16+-56+ NK lymphocytes of the controls was negatively correlated with STAI I and STAI II (p<0.001). In conclusion, this study demonstrates reduced blood cytotoxic activity and increased trait anxiety in relation to state anxiety in EMF exposed women. An effect of EMFs on immune functions, in part mediated by nervous mechanisms, may be hypothesized. However, the influence of lifestyle may not be excluded.