Alterations of Visual Reaction Time and Short Term Memory in Military Radar Personnel

Background: radar transmitters emit high-power radiofrequency radiation by creation of a high-voltage and high-frequency alternating electrical current.methods: health effects of occupational exposure to military radar were investigated. visual reaction time was recorded with a simple blind computer-assisted-visual reaction time test. to assess the short-term memory, modified wechsler memory scale test was performed.results: the mean +/- sd reaction time in radar works (n=100) and the control group (n=57) were 238.58 +/- 23.47 milliseconds and 291.86 +/- 28.26 milliseconds (p<0.0001), respectively. the scores of forward digit span in radar works and the control group were 3.56 +/- 0.77 and 4.29 +/- 1.06 (p<0.0001), while the scores of backward digit span in radar works and the control group were 2.70 +/- 0.69 and 3.62 +/- 0.95 (p<0.0001). the scores of word recognition in radar works and the control group were 3.37 +/- 1.13 and 5.86 +/- 1.11 (p<0.0001). finally, the scores of paired words in radar works and the control group were 13.56 +/- 1.78 and 15.21 +/- 2.20 (p<0.0001). it can be concluded that occupational exposures to radar radiations decreases reaction time, which may lead to a better response to different hazards.conclusion: to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiation leads to decreased reaction time and the lower performance of short-term memory. altogether, these results indicate that occupational exposure to radar microwave radiations may be linked to some non-detrimental and detrimental health effects.