Development and evaluation of an electromagnetic hypersensitivity questionnaire for Japanese people.
Bioelectromagnetics. 2016 Jun 21. doi: 10.1002/bem.21987. [Epub ahead of print]
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a Japanese version of an electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) questionnaire, originally developed by Eltiti et al. in the United Kingdom. Using this Japanese EHS questionnaire, surveys were conducted on 1306 controls and 127 self-selected EHS subjects in Japan. Principal component analysis of controls revealed eight principal symptom groups, namely, nervous, skin-related, head-related, auditory and vestibular, musculoskeletal, allergy-related, sensory, and heart/chest-related. The reliability of the Japanese EHS questionnaire was confirmed by high to moderate intraclass correlation coefficients in a test-retest analysis, and high Cronbach's α coefficients (0.853-0.953) from each subscale. A comparison of scores of each subscale between self-selected EHS subjects and age- and sex-matched controls using bivariate logistic regression analysis, Mann-Whitney U- and χ2 tests, verified the validity of the questionnaire. This study demonstrated that the Japanese EHS questionnaire is reliable and valid, and can be used for surveillance of EHS individuals in Japan. Furthermore, based on multiple logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses, we propose specific preliminary criteria for screening EHS individuals in Japan. Bioelectromagnetics. © 2016 The Authors. Bioelectromagnetics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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I noticed they even suggest that 60 of the control subjects ought to "visit a qualified medical specialist":
Furthermore, 60 subjects from the controls (1,306 respondents out of 2,000) also met with these preliminary screening criteria, suggesting that 3.0–4.6% of the general public in Japan may be EHS individuals, even though none are currently diagnosed with SHS or MCS /EHS. In addition, significant differences were not observed in all scores between 60 subjects from the control group and self-selected EHS subjects (data not shown).
Based on the fact that only 1% of the population of Japan is aware of EHS, determined by a preliminary survey [Hojo and Tokiya, 2012], some of these 60 subjects may have some knowledge of EHS; however, the majority of them most probably have no knowledge of this condition. Thus, it is very important that these unsuspecting individuals, who may have developed EHS symptoms, visit a qualified medical specialist. ... Japanese self-selected EHS subjects have suffered greatly in their day-to-day life [Ito et al., 2012], making it imperative to have specialists who are familiar with EHS, as well as MCS and SHS.
Barb
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