Follow up of the immune response of workers of a museum exposed to an electro-magnetic field producy by an electric implant.

Seven women and eight men, exposed to low frequency (50 Hz) electromagnetic fields (ELMFs) in a museum for 20 hours a week, were investigated in the years 1999 and 2005. During the first study, the mean ELMF exposure in the working place was 1.7 and μT and 1,1 μT, respectively. In the first investigation, the ELMF-exposed men showed reduced blood NK lymphocytes in relation to controls, while ELMF-exposed women presented reduced PHA-stimulated IFN-γ release from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In the year 2005, blood cytotoxic activity, state and trate 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. ELMF-exposed men showed higher occupational stress but normal immune parameters. ELMF-exposed women showed, in relation to controls, lower PHA-stimulated IFN-γ 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 ELMF, who worked night shift, showed marked lymphopenia with very low NK lymphocytes and reduced IFN-γ release; these immune parameters returned to normal following a change of work site. This study suggests that low frequency ELMFs affect the immune function 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 ELMFs.