Abstract
The aetiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare and extremely severe neurodegenerative disease, has been associated with magnetic fields exposure. However, evidence for such a relation in the general population is weak, although the previous null results might also be due to exposure misclassification, or a relationship might exist only for selected subgroups. To test such a hypothesis we carried out a population-based case-control study in two Northern and Southern Italy regions, including 703 ALS cases newly diagnosed from 1998 to 2011 and 2737 controls randomly selected from the residents in the study provinces. Overall, we found that a residence near high-voltage power lines, within the corridors yielding a magnetic fields of ≥0.1 μT, was not associated with an excess disease risk, nor did we identify a dose-response relationship after splitting the exposed corridor according to the 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 μT cut-points of exposure. These results were confirmed taking into account age at onset, period of diagnosis, sex, geographical area, and length of exposure. Overall, despite the residual possibility of unmeasured confounding or small susceptible subgroups not identified in our study, these results appear to confirm that the exposure to magnetic fields from power lines occurring in the general population is not associated with increased ALS risk.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - May 31 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- case-control study
- electromagnetic fields
- epidemiology
- power lines
- risk
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
Cite this
Magnetic fields exposure from high-voltage power lines and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in two Italian populations. / Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Kheifets, Leeka; Violi, Federica; Poli, Maurizio; Caldara, Salvatore; Sesti, Daniela; Violanti, Silvia; Zanichelli, Paolo; Notari, Barbara; Fava, Roberto; Arena, Alessia; Calzolari, Roberta; Filippini, Tommaso; Iacuzio, Laura; Arcolin, Elisa; Mandrioli, Jessica; Fini, Nicola; Odone, Anna; Signorelli, Carlo; Patti, Francesco; Zappia, Mario; Pietrini, Vladimiro; Oleari, Paola; Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Dimartino, Angela; Ledda, Caterina; Mauceri, Cristina; Sciacca, Salvatore; Fiore, Maria; Ferrante, Margherita.
In: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 31.05.2017, p. 1-7.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Magnetic fields exposure from high-voltage power lines and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in two Italian populations
AU - Vinceti, Marco
AU - Malagoli, Carlotta
AU - Fabbi, Sara
AU - Kheifets, Leeka
AU - Violi, Federica
AU - Poli, Maurizio
AU - Caldara, Salvatore
AU - Sesti, Daniela
AU - Violanti, Silvia
AU - Zanichelli, Paolo
AU - Notari, Barbara
AU - Fava, Roberto
AU - Arena, Alessia
AU - Calzolari, Roberta
AU - Filippini, Tommaso
AU - Iacuzio, Laura
AU - Arcolin, Elisa
AU - Mandrioli, Jessica
AU - Fini, Nicola
AU - Odone, Anna
AU - Signorelli, Carlo
AU - Patti, Francesco
AU - Zappia, Mario
AU - Pietrini, Vladimiro
AU - Oleari, Paola
AU - Teggi, Sergio
AU - Ghermandi, Grazia
AU - Dimartino, Angela
AU - Ledda, Caterina
AU - Mauceri, Cristina
AU - Sciacca, Salvatore
AU - Fiore, Maria
AU - Ferrante, Margherita
PY - 2017/5/31
Y1 - 2017/5/31
N2 - The aetiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare and extremely severe neurodegenerative disease, has been associated with magnetic fields exposure. However, evidence for such a relation in the general population is weak, although the previous null results might also be due to exposure misclassification, or a relationship might exist only for selected subgroups. To test such a hypothesis we carried out a population-based case-control study in two Northern and Southern Italy regions, including 703 ALS cases newly diagnosed from 1998 to 2011 and 2737 controls randomly selected from the residents in the study provinces. Overall, we found that a residence near high-voltage power lines, within the corridors yielding a magnetic fields of ≥0.1 μT, was not associated with an excess disease risk, nor did we identify a dose-response relationship after splitting the exposed corridor according to the 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 μT cut-points of exposure. These results were confirmed taking into account age at onset, period of diagnosis, sex, geographical area, and length of exposure. Overall, despite the residual possibility of unmeasured confounding or small susceptible subgroups not identified in our study, these results appear to confirm that the exposure to magnetic fields from power lines occurring in the general population is not associated with increased ALS risk.
AB - The aetiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare and extremely severe neurodegenerative disease, has been associated with magnetic fields exposure. However, evidence for such a relation in the general population is weak, although the previous null results might also be due to exposure misclassification, or a relationship might exist only for selected subgroups. To test such a hypothesis we carried out a population-based case-control study in two Northern and Southern Italy regions, including 703 ALS cases newly diagnosed from 1998 to 2011 and 2737 controls randomly selected from the residents in the study provinces. Overall, we found that a residence near high-voltage power lines, within the corridors yielding a magnetic fields of ≥0.1 μT, was not associated with an excess disease risk, nor did we identify a dose-response relationship after splitting the exposed corridor according to the 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 μT cut-points of exposure. These results were confirmed taking into account age at onset, period of diagnosis, sex, geographical area, and length of exposure. Overall, despite the residual possibility of unmeasured confounding or small susceptible subgroups not identified in our study, these results appear to confirm that the exposure to magnetic fields from power lines occurring in the general population is not associated with increased ALS risk.
KW - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
KW - case-control study
KW - electromagnetic fields
KW - epidemiology
KW - power lines
KW - risk
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85020174173&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85020174173&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/21678421.2017.1332078
DO - 10.1080/21678421.2017.1332078
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85020174173
SP - 1
EP - 7
JO - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
JF - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
SN - 2167-8421
ER -