Research

Project Title:
The effects of mobile phone radiation on blood pressure

Start Date:
August 2002

Expected Date of Completion:
January 2006

Cost:
£364,000

Research Team:

Principal Investigator:

Professor Anthony T. Barker

Contact Details:

Department of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering
Royal Hallamshire Hospital
Glossop Road
Sheffield
S10 2JF
UK.

Project Team:

Dr. P.R. Jackson, University of Sheffield
Dr. G.G. Cook, University of Sheffield
Dr. L.A. Coulton, University of Sheffield

Expertise:

Professor Barker is a consultant clinical scientist and has carried out research into the biological effects of electromagnetic fields, ranging from weak static fields to the clinical uses of large magnetic field pulses, for over twenty-five years. He chairs the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) Policy Advisory Group on the biological effects of electromagnetic fields.

Dr Jackson runs the Hospital clinic in Sheffield that treats patients with high blood pressure, and leads a University research group investigating the causes and treatment of this condition. He has considerable experience in research studies looking at blood pressure, in which he has been involved for over twenty years.

Dr. Cook is an electrical engineer who specialises in antenna design and measurement, and computational electromagnetics. He currently holds a Medical Research Council award to carry out research into biological effects of mobile phones and has chaired two IEE conferences on health aspects of using cellular phones.

Dr. Coulton is a biochemist and has been involved in studies of cellular effects of electromagnetic fields for over twenty years. He currently sits on the Advisory Group on Non- Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) of the NRPB.

Approach:

The principal aim of this study is to determine whether the electromagnetic fields from mobile phones increase the blood pressure of a group of 120 normal volunteers. Subjects will receive five different types of electromagnetic exposure using the standard MTHR human exposure system (sham, carrier wave at GSM frequency, modulated GSM, carrier wave at TETRA frequency and modulated TETRA) during which their blood pressure and cardiac activity will be monitored. Blood samples will be analysed for catechols (which are markers of sympathetic nervous system activity). 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring will be used to assess the duration of any effects.

Potential Difficulties:

None that can be anticipated.

Importance:

Studies of blood pressure are important because raised blood pressure is a major cause of strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. This pressure normally varies from minute to minute and varies with many everyday events. Even things like talking can cause the blood pressure to go up briefly. However quite small long-term increases of pressure can increase the incidence of stokes and heart attacks. To be as certain as possible that using a mobile phone doesn’t increase blood pressure will need a study of a large number of volunteers, sometimes exposing them to mobile phone signals and other times not, taking care to avoid all other influences on the pressure. We will collect additional information on the function of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the working of the heart and blood vessels, to help us interpret any small changes in pressure that are seen.

It is important to carry out such studies in humans because it would be difficult, if not Impossible, to extrapolate any findings from animal experiments to man. This is partly because the penetration depth and distribution of the electromagnetic fields are highly dependent on anatomy.

Outputs:

Final Report:

The final report on this project is available to download.

Peer-reviewed Papers:

Results from the project have been published in the following peer-reviewed papers:

Barker AT, Jackson PR, Parry H, Coulton LA, Cook GG and Wood SM (2007). The effect of GSM and TETRA mobile handset signals on blood pressure, catechol levels and heart rate variability. Bioelectromagnetics, 28(6), 433-8. Link to abstract.