Residential exposure to electromagnetic fields and childhood leukaemia: a meta-analysis - PubMed (original) (raw)
Meta-Analysis
Residential exposure to electromagnetic fields and childhood leukaemia: a meta-analysis
I F Angelillo et al. Bull World Health Organ. 1999.
Abstract
Although individual epidemiological investigations have suggested associations between residential exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and childhood leukaemia, overall the findings have been inconclusive. Several of these studies do, however, lend themselves to application of the meta-analysis technique. For this purpose we carried out searches using MEDLINE and other sources, and 14 case-control studies and one cohort study were identified and evaluated for epidemiological quality and included in the meta-analysis. Relative risk estimates were extracted from each of the studies and pooled. Separate meta-analyses were performed on the basis of the assessed EMF exposure (wiring configuration codes, distance to power distribution equipment, spot and 24-h measures of magnetic field strength (magnetic flux density) and calculated magnetic field). The meta-analysis based on wiring configuration codes yielded a pooled relative risk estimate of 1.46 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-2.04, P = 0.024) and for that for exposure to 24-h measurements of magnetic fields, 1.59 (95% CI = 1.14-2.22, P = 0.006), indicating a potential effect of residential EMF exposure on childhood leukaemia. In most cases, lower risk estimates were obtained by pooling high-quality studies than pooling low-quality studies. There appears to be a clear trend for more recent studies to be of higher quality. Enough evidence exists to conclude that dismissing concerns about residential EMFs and childhood leukaemia is unwarranted. Additional high-quality epidemiological studies incorporating comparable measures for both exposure and outcomes are, however, needed to confirm these findings and, should they prove to be true, the case options for minimizing exposure should be thoroughly investigated to provide definitive answers for policy-makers.
Similar articles
- Residential magnetic fields predicted from wiring configurations: II. Relationships To childhood leukemia.
Thomas DC, Bowman JD, Jiang L, Jiang F, Peters JM. Thomas DC, et al. Bioelectromagnetics. 1999 Oct;20(7):414-22. Bioelectromagnetics. 1999. PMID: 10495306 - [Infantile leukemia and exposure to 50/60 Hz magnetic fields: review of epidemiologic evidence in 2000].
Lagorio S, Salvan A. Lagorio S, et al. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2001;37(2):213-24. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2001. PMID: 11758279 Review. Italian. - Selection bias and its implications for case-control studies: a case study of magnetic field exposure and childhood leukaemia.
Mezei G, Kheifets L. Mezei G, et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2006 Apr;35(2):397-406. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyi245. Epub 2005 Nov 22. Int J Epidemiol. 2006. PMID: 16303812 Review. - Childhood leukemia and residential magnetic fields: are pooled analyses more valid than the original studies?
Elwood JM. Elwood JM. Bioelectromagnetics. 2006 Feb;27(2):112-8. doi: 10.1002/bem.20181. Bioelectromagnetics. 2006. PMID: 16283664 - Investigation of the sources of residential power frequency magnetic field exposure in the UK Childhood Cancer Study.
Maslanyj MP, Mee TJ, Renew DC, Simpson J, Ansell P, Allen SG, Roman E. Maslanyj MP, et al. J Radiol Prot. 2007 Mar;27(1):41-58. doi: 10.1088/0952-4746/27/1/002. Epub 2007 Mar 6. J Radiol Prot. 2007. PMID: 17341803
Cited by
- Identifying the knowledge structure of electromagnetic fields and health research: Text network analysis and topic modeling.
Seomun G, Ban S, Park J. Seomun G, et al. PLoS One. 2022 Aug 17;17(8):e0273005. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273005. eCollection 2022. PLoS One. 2022. PMID: 35976897 Free PMC article. - Environmental Risk Factors and Health: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.
Rojas-Rueda D, Morales-Zamora E, Alsufyani WA, Herbst CH, AlBalawi SM, Alsukait R, Alomran M. Rojas-Rueda D, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 15;18(2):704. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020704. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 33467516 Free PMC article. Review. - Metaplot: a novel stata graph for assessing heterogeneity at a glance.
Poorolajal J, Mahmoodi M, Majdzadeh R, Fotouhi A. Poorolajal J, et al. Iran J Public Health. 2010;39(2):102-4. Epub 2010 Jun 30. Iran J Public Health. 2010. PMID: 23113013 Free PMC article. - Quality of systematic reviews of observational nontherapeutic studies.
Shamliyan T, Kane RL, Jansen S. Shamliyan T, et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2010 Nov;7(6):A133. Epub 2010 Oct 15. Prev Chronic Dis. 2010. PMID: 20950540 Free PMC article. - A systematic review of the content of critical appraisal tools.
Katrak P, Bialocerkowski AE, Massy-Westropp N, Kumar S, Grimmer KA. Katrak P, et al. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2004 Sep 16;4:22. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-4-22. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2004. PMID: 15369598 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical