German wide cross sectional survey on health impacts of electromagnetic fields in the view of general practitioners.
Kowall B, Breckenkamp J, Heyer K, Berg-Beckhoff G.
Department of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, PO 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany.

OBJECTIVES:
The proportion of general practitioners (GPs) in Germany who assume health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) is assessed. Moreover, factors associated with this risk perception are examined.

METHODS:
A 7% random sample was drawn from online lists of all the GPs working in Germany. 1,867 doctors received a long version of a self-administered postal questionnaire about EMF and health (response rate 23.3%), 928 doctors received a short version (response rate 49.1%).

RESULTS:
37.3% of responders to the short and 57.5% of responders to the long questionnaire agreed "that there are persons whose health complaints are caused by EMF when legal limit values are met". A late responder analysis for the survey with the short questionnaire led to a still lower estimate of 29% for GPs believing in health-relevant effects of EMF.

CONCLUSION:
About a third of German GPs associate EMF with health complaints and thus deviate considerably from current scientific knowledge. To avoid a strong selection bias in the surveys of the perception of EMF risks, use of short questionnaires and late responder analysis are recommended.

Int J Public Health. 2009 Dec 18. [Epub ahead of print]

12/09

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