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Exposure to electromagnetic fields alter heart function, according to a study. Many newborns, especially premature babies must spend time in the incubator, which maintain their body temperature and allows doctors to closely watched. Despite the proven benefits offered by these devices, a team from the Department of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, University of Siena (Italy), said that exposure of newborns to electromagnetic fields can affect heart rate and perhaps to have long-term effects.

So far only a hypothesis, but the authors suggest that further studies in depth to say if confirmed as true or, conversely, can not be demonstrated.

The first step to see if the argument is true they have given themselves Italian researchers, who have measured changes in heart rate of 43 infants in incubators, none of whom was premature or seriously ill. Following a series of experiments, the team concludes, as published in ‘Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood’, that electromagnetic fields from these machines alter the frequency of the beat of hearts of infants.

Before reaching this result, ruled first that this alteration was due to noise or vibration produced by the motor of the incubator. For this, the researchers simulated a device with the intensity of noise and vibration typical of incubators and measured heart rate of children who were quiet for 15 minutes with noise simulator on and off. There was no difference in the heartbeat.

They also studied the heart function of small every five minutes in the incubator on, then turned off and turned to her again. Then they saw that the heart rate decreased when the machine was running, something the authors suggest it may be due to the electromagnetic field.

The decrease in heart rate is a factor indicating a worse prognosis in adult patients with coronary disease and also in the general population, but whether it is the same with children. Therefore, researchers call for more studies on the subject, as to whether this exposure could result in a complication for long-term health.

No worry
“It’s the first time he says this and there is no evidence nor any reason to be concerned,” says a elmundo.es Dr. Manuel Sanchez Luna, neonatal intensive care at the Hospital Gregorio Maranon de Madrid. “Although everything is studied to improve the safety of children is fine,” he admits.

Siena’s team explains that “you can make some modifications to the design of incubators to reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields. But he also recognizes that “it is not known if this exposure has consequences for the health of babies in the long term.”

The question on electromagnetic fields and its relation to health is controversial for years. Many appliances have been, on occasion, have been linked to health risks such as mobile phones, antennas, etc. But so far, the Italian authors assert that “there is no certainty that these areas be the cause of alterations in the body.”

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