0000000000454822
AUTHOR
Jürgen Breckenkamp
Mobile phone base stations and adverse health effects: phase 1 of a population-based, cross-sectional study in Germany
Objective: The aim of this first phase of a cross-sectional study from Germany was to investigate whether proximity of residence to mobile phone base stations as well as risk perception is associated with health complaints. Methods: The researchers conducted a population-based, multi-phase, cross-sectional study within the context of a large panel survey regularly carried out by a private research institute in Germany. In the initial phase, reported on in this paper, 30 047 persons from a total of 51 444 who took part in the nationwide survey also answered questions on how mobile phone base stations affected their health. A list of 38 health complaints was used. A multiple linear regression…
Quality control for exposure assessment in epidemiological studies
In the framework of an epidemiological study, dosemeters were used for the assessment of radio frequency electromagnetic field exposure. To check the correct dosemeter's performance in terms of consistency of recorded field values over the entire study period, a quality control strategy was developed. In this paper, the concept of quality control and its results is described. From the 20 dosemeters used, 19 were very stable and reproducible, with deviations of a maximum of +/- 1 dB compared with their initial state. One device was found to be faulty and its measurement data had to be excluded from the analysis. As a result of continuous quality control procedures, the confidence in the meas…
Association between socioeconomic factors and sleep quality in an urban population-based sample in Germany.
BACKGROUND: Good sleep quality is essential for recovery. The risk factors of sleep disorders have been extensively investigated, but there is sparse information on the association of socioeconomic factors with a person's sleep quality. The aim of the present analysis is to investigate this association, taking particularly the effect of health confounders into consideration.METHODS: The data were extracted from the cross-sectional QUEBEB Study. In total, the study sample consisted of 3281 participants (1817 women and 1464 men, aged 16-72 years). Here socioeconomic status (SES) was collected from the baseline survey taken in 2004. Sleep quality for the same participants was measured with in-…
Five years of the South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (SEEJPH): Focusing on health systems in transition and global health
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Feasibility of a cohort study on health risks caused by occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
Abstract Background The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of performing a cohort study on health risks from occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in Germany. Methods A set of criteria was developed to evaluate the feasibility of such a cohort study. The criteria aimed at conditions of exposure and exposure assessment (level, duration, preferably on an individual basis), the possibility to assemble a cohort and the feasibility of ascertaining various disease endpoints. Results Twenty occupational settings with workers potentially exposed to RF-EMF and, in addition, a cohort of amateur radio operators were considered. Based on expert ratings, l…