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Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level
OBJECTIVES: Some studies indicate that dentistry is one of the job categories with high potential exposure to elevated levels of extremely low frequency magnetic fields. In spite of this, information on occupational exposure of dentists to these fields is scarce. Studies on other common sources of e...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd
2012
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361780/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22690053 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.95958 |
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author | Mortazavi, S. M. J. Vazife-Doost, S. Yaghooti, M. Mehdizadeh, S. Rajaie-Far, A. |
author_facet | Mortazavi, S. M. J. Vazife-Doost, S. Yaghooti, M. Mehdizadeh, S. Rajaie-Far, A. |
author_sort | Mortazavi, S. M. J. |
collection | PubMed |
description | OBJECTIVES: Some studies indicate that dentistry is one of the job categories with high potential exposure to elevated levels of extremely low frequency magnetic fields. In spite of this, information on occupational exposure of dentists to these fields is scarce. Studies on other common sources of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) such as mobile base stations have shown alterations in the cortisol level following exposure of humans to these sources. The aim of this study is to compare the level of cortisol among dentists and dentistry students who are being occupationally exposed to EMFs emitted by magnetostrictive cavitrons (case group) and among their counterparts who are not being exposed to these fields (control group). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case–control study, blood samples were collected from 41 dentists and dentistry students, 21 of whom were exposed to EMFs emitted by cavitrons as the case group and 20 who were not exposed as the control group, twice; i.e. before work (at 8:30–9:30 a.m.) and after work (11:30–12:30 a.m.). The samples were coded and the serum cortisol level was investigated using the ELISA method (Cortisol AccuBind ELISA Kits). RESULTS: The serum cortisol level of dentists and dental students in the morning (before starting the work) in the control group was 189.15 ± 110.70 (mean ± SD) whereas it was 157.77 ± 112.03 in those who were occupationally exposed to EMFs produced by the use of cavitrons. This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.373). In contrast, the serum cortisol level of the participants in the noon (after stopping the work) in the control group was 136.25 ± 67.91 (mean ± SD) while it was 88.58 ± 52.83 in those who were occupationally exposed to EMFs produced by the use of cavitrons. This time, the observed difference was statistically significant (P = 0.016). In this light, while the difference between serum cortisol levels of dentists and dental students in the morning and after stopping the work was not statistically significant (P = 0.06), in the EMF-exposed group the cortisol level decreased significantly from 157.77 ± 112.03 in the morning to 88.58 ± 52.83 in the noon (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: As far as we know, this is the first study that evaluated the effect of occupational exposure of dentists to EMFs on their serum cortisol level. The EMFs produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons can decrease the serum cortisol level in dentists. As cortisol plays an important role in blood pressure regulation, cardiovascular, and immune system function, a low cortisol level may threaten health. More studies are needed to clearly understand the effects of EMFs emitted by magnetostrictive cavitron on the level of stress hormones. As some studies have shown that exposure to EMFs has no effect on the cortisol level, whereas other studies reported either an increase or a decrease in the cortisol level, it can be concluded that the effects of exposure to EMFs may occur only at specific absorbed energies or energy absorption rates (usually known as window) similar to that exists in the case of exposure to the low doses of ionizing radiations. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3361780 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2012 |
publisher | Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-33617802012-06-11 Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level Mortazavi, S. M. J. Vazife-Doost, S. Yaghooti, M. Mehdizadeh, S. Rajaie-Far, A. J Nat Sci Biol Med Original Article OBJECTIVES: Some studies indicate that dentistry is one of the job categories with high potential exposure to elevated levels of extremely low frequency magnetic fields. In spite of this, information on occupational exposure of dentists to these fields is scarce. Studies on other common sources of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) such as mobile base stations have shown alterations in the cortisol level following exposure of humans to these sources. The aim of this study is to compare the level of cortisol among dentists and dentistry students who are being occupationally exposed to EMFs emitted by magnetostrictive cavitrons (case group) and among their counterparts who are not being exposed to these fields (control group). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case–control study, blood samples were collected from 41 dentists and dentistry students, 21 of whom were exposed to EMFs emitted by cavitrons as the case group and 20 who were not exposed as the control group, twice; i.e. before work (at 8:30–9:30 a.m.) and after work (11:30–12:30 a.m.). The samples were coded and the serum cortisol level was investigated using the ELISA method (Cortisol AccuBind ELISA Kits). RESULTS: The serum cortisol level of dentists and dental students in the morning (before starting the work) in the control group was 189.15 ± 110.70 (mean ± SD) whereas it was 157.77 ± 112.03 in those who were occupationally exposed to EMFs produced by the use of cavitrons. This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.373). In contrast, the serum cortisol level of the participants in the noon (after stopping the work) in the control group was 136.25 ± 67.91 (mean ± SD) while it was 88.58 ± 52.83 in those who were occupationally exposed to EMFs produced by the use of cavitrons. This time, the observed difference was statistically significant (P = 0.016). In this light, while the difference between serum cortisol levels of dentists and dental students in the morning and after stopping the work was not statistically significant (P = 0.06), in the EMF-exposed group the cortisol level decreased significantly from 157.77 ± 112.03 in the morning to 88.58 ± 52.83 in the noon (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: As far as we know, this is the first study that evaluated the effect of occupational exposure of dentists to EMFs on their serum cortisol level. The EMFs produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons can decrease the serum cortisol level in dentists. As cortisol plays an important role in blood pressure regulation, cardiovascular, and immune system function, a low cortisol level may threaten health. More studies are needed to clearly understand the effects of EMFs emitted by magnetostrictive cavitron on the level of stress hormones. As some studies have shown that exposure to EMFs has no effect on the cortisol level, whereas other studies reported either an increase or a decrease in the cortisol level, it can be concluded that the effects of exposure to EMFs may occur only at specific absorbed energies or energy absorption rates (usually known as window) similar to that exists in the case of exposure to the low doses of ionizing radiations. Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 2012 /pmc/articles/PMC3361780/ /pubmed/22690053 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.95958 Text en Copyright: © Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Original Article Mortazavi, S. M. J. Vazife-Doost, S. Yaghooti, M. Mehdizadeh, S. Rajaie-Far, A. Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
title | Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
title_full | Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
title_fullStr | Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
title_full_unstemmed | Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
title_short | Occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
title_sort | occupational exposure of dentists to electromagnetic fields produced by magnetostrictive cavitrons alters the serum cortisol level |
topic | Original Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361780/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22690053 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.95958 |
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