New results on the immune response of women exposed 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-γ release. In the year 2005, the EMF exposed women and 48 control women with similar age (mean 43 years), smoking habit, atopy and social level were investigated. State (temporary) and trate (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. The blood cytotoxic activity of the exposed women was lower (p<0.01), % of B CD45+-CD19+ lymphocytes higher and % 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 trate 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. Morever, the influence of lifestyle may not be excluded.