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17 December 2008
Powerfrequency susceptibility may be determined by our genes
Powerfrequency electromagnetic fields have been in the news again recently. A Chinese team (Yang 2008) found that children with specific genetic markers are 4 times more likely to develop childhood leukaemia if they live within 100 metres of powerlines or transformers (substations). The team found that 5% of Shanghai children have the genetic markers in question.
It has always been thought that some people are more likely to be affected by powerlines than others. With the increase in knowledge about our genetic inheritance, we are getting closer to being able to identify who these people are.
Last month we heard from a Swiss team (Huss 2008) that people living within 50 metres of a powerline had a doubled risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia. This supports the meta-analysis from earlier this year that found the same doubling in Alzheimer's from pooling a number of studies (Garcia 2008).
These studies looked at powerlines, but the important thing to remember is that they were looking at individual exposure to magnetic fields that you get not only from powerlines, but also from substations, house wiring, electric appliances, etc.
If you are concerned about the exposure of you and your family, you can measure the fields with our easy-to use PRO meters for hire. They come complete with instructions and comparison levels. We offer an advisory service to those who hire or buy instruments from us, and often the information they provide offer peace of mind.
References
- Garcia AM et al 2008 - Occupational exposure to extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields and Alzheimer disease: a meta-analysis, Int J Epidemiol. 2008 Feb 2
[View on Pubmed] [Epub ahead of print] - Huss A et al 2008 - Residence Near Power Lines and Mortality From Neurodegenerative Diseases: Longitudinal Study of the Swiss Population, Am J Epidemiol. Nov 5.
[View on Pubmed][Epub ahead of print] - Yang Y et al 2008 - Case-only study of interactions between DNA repair genes hMLH1, APEX1, MGMT, XRCC1 and XPD) (and low-frequency electromagnetic fields in childhood acute leukemia, Leuk Lymphoma. Dec;49(12):2344-50
[View on Pubmed]
For the full, more technical article please see the Powerwatch news article