Self-Reported Health Outcomes and Time Spent Near Telecommunication Base Stations in Ilesa East and Ilesa West Local Government Areas, Osun State, Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aims: To examine the association between time spent near telecommunication base stations and self-reported health outcomes among residents of Ilesa East and Ilesa West Local Government Areas, Osun State, Nigeria, and to describe health-worker observations from facilities serving the same communities. Study Design: A Cross-sectional descriptive survey. Place and Duration of Study: Thirteen telecommunication mast sites across seven wards and eight health facilities in Ilesa East and Ilesa West Local Government Areas, Osun State, Nigeria; fieldwork was conducted from July 2025 to March 2026. Methodology: A 21-item questionnaire was administered to 261 community respondents selected through purposive and convenience sampling from clusters around 13 masts, and a 17-item questionnaire was administered to all 17 consenting health workers (total enumeration). Exposure was operationalised as self-reported time spent around the mast; no RF-EMF field-strength measurements were taken. Data were analysed in SPSS using frequencies and percentages and, for the association between time spent around the mast and reported fatigue, a chi-square test of independence at a significance level of 0.05. Results: Female respondents constituted 59.00% of the community sample, and artisans were the largest occupational group (37.16%). Mast-associated noise was reported by 60.92% of respondents. Self-reported outcomes included regular headache (6.51%), cancer-related disease (22.61%), sensation of internal heat (3.45%), congenital malformation or behavioural problems in children (2.30%), childhood leukaemia (1.15%), miscarriage (4.98%), abnormal night sleep (24.14%), fatigue (30.27%), and eye problems (21.07%). Fatigue prevalence did not rise with time spent around the mast (26.88% in the 12–24 h group, 31.51% in the < 12 h group, and 32.63% in the occasional-exposure group), and the association was not statistically significant (χ²(2, N = 261) = 0.81, p = .667). Among the 17 health workers, 3 (17.65%) reported having encountered a cancer-related case and 1 (5.88%) a miscarriage case that they attributed to mast proximity, while 11 (64.71%) reported other health problems seen at their facilities. These are reports of cases encountered, not individually verified diagnoses and are not comparable with residents' reports of their own conditions. All 261 community respondents and all 17 health workers recommended against siting masts close to residential buildings. Conclusion: Residents near telecommunication masts in the Ilesa area reported non-specific symptoms, particularly fatigue and sleep disturbance, and lower-frequency reports of cancer-related disease and miscarriage. Time spent around the mast was not significantly associated with reported fatigue. Health-worker observations are complementary and do not independently verify residents' conditions. The cross-sectional, self-reported design, without field-strength measurements cannot establish a causal RF-EMF relationship. The unanimous preference for siting masts away from residences supports enforcement of existing siting standards, objective RF-EMF monitoring, and community consultation before mast installation.