Campi magnetici a 50/60 Hz: una nuova prova maggior rischio leucemia infantile

Inviamo l’Abstract di un art. scientifico pubblicato sull’International Journal of Cancer, Vol. 119, Issue 3, pages 643-650, Wiley InterScience Ed., August 1, 2006.

Riferimento web: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.21374/abstract

Vengono riportati i risultati di un’indagine epidemiologica (caso-controllo) eseguita in Giapppone sulla leucemia infantile e i campi magnetici residenziali alla frequenza della rete elettrica (50 Hz o 60 Hz).

Ecco i dati e i risultati principali:

1) 54 % della popolazione giovanile coinvolta nello studio;

2) 312 nuovi casi totali di leucemia linfoblastica acuta (ALL) o di leucemia mieloide acuta (AML) diagnosticati dal 1999 al 2001 (2.3 anni) (età 0 – 15 anni);

4) utilizzati 603 controlli adattati per sesso, età ed area residenziale.

3) determinato su base settimanale il livello medio del campo magnetico nelle camere dei bambini.

Risultati:

4) il rischio per i bambini esposti ad un campo magnetico di 0.4 microTesla o maggiore, rispetto alla categioria di riferimento (campo magnetico inferiore a 0.1 microTesla) è risultato di 2.6 volte per l’AML + l’ALL, e 4.7 volte per la sola ALL.

5) la maggior parte dei casi di leucemia riscontrati nella categoria di esposizione più elevata erano sottoposti a livelli di campo magnetico molto più elevati di 0.4 microTesla.

6) i risultati forniscono un’ulteriore evidenza che l’esposizione al campo magnetico elevato è associata ad un maggior rischio di leucemia infantile, specialmente per l’ALL.

Saluti,

Coordinamento dei Comitati di Roma Nord.
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Epidemiology

Childhood leukemia and magnetic fields in Japan: A case-control study of childhood leukemia and residential power-frequency magnetic fields in Japan

Michinori Kabuto 1 *, Hiroshi Nitta 1, Seiichiro Yamamoto 2, Naohito Yamaguchi 3, Suminori Akiba 4, Yasushi Honda 5, Jun Hagihara 6, Katsuo Isaka 7, Tomohiro Saito 8, Toshiyuki Ojima 9, Yosikazu Nakamura 9, Tetsuya Mizoue 10, Satoko Ito 11, Akira Eboshida 11, Shin Yamazaki 12, Shigeru Sokejima 12, Yoshika Kurokawa 1, Osami Kubo 3

1 National Institute for Environmental Studies, Ibaraki, Japan
2 National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan
3 Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
4 Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
5 University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
6 Miyagi University, Miyagi, Japan
7 Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
8 National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan
9 Jichi Medical School, Tochigi, Japan
10 University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Fukuoka, Japan
11 Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
12 Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

*Correspondence to Michinori Kabuto, National Institute for
Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

Funded by:
Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for 1999-2001

Abstract
Residential power-frequency magnetic fields (MFs) were labeled as a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer panel. In response to great public concern, the World Health Organization urged that further epidemiologic studies be conducted in high-exposure areas such as Japan. We conducted a population-based case-control study, which covered areas inhabited by 54% of Japanese children. We analyzed 312 case children (0-15 years old) newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) in 1999-2001 (2.3 years) and 603 controls matched for gender, age and residential area. Weekly mean MF level was determined for the child’s bedroom. MF measurements in each set of a case and controls were carried out as closely in time as possible to control for seasonal variation. We evaluated the association using conditional logistic regression models. The odds ratios for children whose bedrooms had MF levels of 0.4 T or higher compared with the reference category (MF levels below 0.1 T) was 2.6 (95% CI = 0.76-8.6) for AML + ALL and 4.7 (1.15-19.0) for ALL only. Controlling for some possible confounding factors did not alter the results appreciably. Even an analysis in which selection bias was maximized did not fully explain the association. Most of the leukemia cases in the highest exposure category had MF levels far above 0.4 T. Our results provided additional evidence that high MF exposure was associated with a higher risk of childhood leukemia, particularly of ALL. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Received: 28 September 2004; Accepted: 31 May 2005
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