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Descriptive self-reporting survey of people with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): similarities and comparisons with previous studies

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A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 30 January 2018

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Abstract

Context

In France, cases of people self-reporting symptoms due to electromagnetic fields (EMF) or idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) have emerged over the past 10 years. Several self-help and action groups have claimed an increasing number of members. However, little is known about this population in France.

Aim

Our primary objective was to describe the reported symptoms and the sources that may induce these symptoms through a questionnaire-based study. Secondly, we discussed our results alongside those obtained from the existing literature and provide an overview of this physical condition.

Subjects and methods

From April to November 2014, a self-questionnaire survey was conducted in France. With 52 participants, the average age of respondents was 50 ± 11 years and the majority of participants at 79% were women.

Results

Our study results in the French population were consistent with findings in the literature conducted in other countries and also highlighted a number of emerging EMF sources such as wireless area networks, to be perceived as possible causes of symptoms.

Conclusions

Despite methodological differences, we summarized facts from previous comparable investigations. We also provided an overview of people claiming EMF effects and briefly discussed possible avenues of research.

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Change history

  • 30 January 2018

    The journal had been advised to revise the title so that Clarivate Analytics can try to count the citations more accurately. There’s been confusion due to the existence of another journal with the same name.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to warmly thank all the respondents for their participation, the members of French self-help and action groups, as well as the association representatives for sharing and communicating about the research, and the representatives of the “Collectif des Electrosensibles de France” for their invaluable assistance.

Funding

This work was fully funded by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES); grant number: SENSI-RF EST-2013-002.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INERIS, Experimental Toxicology Unit, National Institute of Industrial Environment and Risks (INERIS), Parc technologique Alata, 60550, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France

    Soafara Andrianome, René De Seze, Anne Braun & Brahim Selmaoui

  2. PériTox Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Jules Verne University of Picardy, Amiens, France

    Soafara Andrianome, René De Seze, Anne Braun & Brahim Selmaoui

Authors
  1. Soafara Andrianome
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  2. René De Seze
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  3. Anne Braun
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  4. Brahim Selmaoui
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brahim Selmaoui.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the CPP Nord Ouest CHU Amiens, France (CPP, 2014/8).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

The original version of this article was revised: Due to the existence of another journal with the same name, the Publisher has added a subtitle, “From Theory to Practice.” Effective as of January 2018, the new title of this Journal is Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice.

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Andrianome, S., De Seze, R., Braun, A. et al. Descriptive self-reporting survey of people with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): similarities and comparisons with previous studies. J Public Health (Berl.) 26, 461–473 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-017-0886-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-017-0886-0

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