Occupational exposure to power frequency magnetic fields and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (MF) have been associated with leukemia. The objective of this thesis was to determine the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) associated with occupational exposure to power frequency MF. We analyzed data collected through the Canadian National Enhanced Cancer Surveillance System (NECSS) from 1624 histologically confirmed incident cases of NHL and 1643 population controls. Every occupation held by subjects was categorized through blinded expert review according to its average MF exposure. Cumulative exposure indices were calculated for each subject. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression. We found no association between occupational exposure to MF and NHL risk. We did find an association between self-reported work with pesticides and NHL risk (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.6). Our findings provide no support for the hypothesis that exposure to power frequency MF is a causal factor for NHL.