Does exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) affect the circadian rhythm of rest-activity patterns and behavioral sleep variables in humans?

We evaluated the effects of the exposure to radio-frequency radiation emanating from the base transceiver station (BTS) on the characteristics of circadian rest-activity rhythm and behavioral sleep variables in humans. We performed this exploratory field study in a sample of 89 healthy subjects randomly chosen out of 1434 individuals surveyed for the purpose. We divided 89 subjects into five groups, including the control, as a function of distance from the BTS. The E-field strength was higher in the groups of the inter-tower region and between 0 and 150 m away from the BTS. The E-field (distance) did not significantly affect the circadian rhythm parameters and behavioral sleep variables, except a marginal delay in the peak timings of the rest-activity rhythm of subjects in the inter-tower and 300–500 m groups. Notable secondary effects of the factor gender were noticed on circadian amplitude, sleep efficiency, dichotomy index, and wake after sleep onset. We concluded that exposure to radiation from the BTS did not modulate actigraphy-based behavioral sleep variables of people residing around BTS installations. We recommend more extensive field-based studies with rigorous longitudinal designs to validate the effects of radiation from the BTS in humans.

本研究评估了基站收发台（Base Transceiver Station，BTS）发射的射频辐射暴露对人类昼夜节律休息-活动节律特征及行为睡眠变量的影响。本研究从为该调研目的招募的1434名个体中随机选取89名健康受试者作为样本，开展此项探索性现场研究。我们根据距BTS的距离将89名受试者分为五组，其中包含对照组。两基站间区域及距BTS 0~150米范围内的组别电场强度更高。电场强度（即暴露距离）未对昼夜节律参数及行为睡眠变量产生显著影响，仅两基站间区域组与300~500米组受试者的休息-活动节律峰值时间出现了轻微延迟。性别因素对昼夜节律振幅、睡眠效率、二分指数及睡眠起始后觉醒时间存在显著次级影响。本研究结论认为，BTS辐射暴露并未对居住在BTS基站周边人群基于活动记录仪（actigraphy）的行为睡眠变量产生调节作用。本研究建议开展规模更大、采用严格纵向设计的现场研究，以验证BTS辐射对人类的影响。