Authored By:
Boehmert C, Verrender A, Pauli M, Wiedemann P.Summary:
This was a double-blind provocation study investigating the association between providing precautionary information on electromagnetic fields (EMF) and the nocebo response. The study included 73 participants who received basic information on the use of Wi-Fi and 64 controls who received basic and precautionary information. All subjects were then sham exposed to EMF three times and asked if they could perceive the field or experience any health symptoms. There was no statistical significant difference between the risk perceived when given basic information or basic plus precautionary information. The authors concluded that precautionary information does not trigger the nocebo effect.
Published In:
Environmental Health 2018Commentary by ARPANSA:
The nocebo effect is the unspecified adverse effect caused by the expectation or belief that something is harmful to health, this can result in negative symptoms for individuals. It has been suggested that in electromagnetic hypersensitivity the belief of exposure is enough to cause symptoms and the nocebo effect may play a role in their development (SCENIHR 2009).
