title: Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field on the health of workers in automotive industry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe the effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) in automotive industry on occupational workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 704 workers were investigated, and 374 workers were chosen and divided into two groups (control group and exposure group) according to the inclusive criteria, namely male with age 20-40 years old and ≥ 2 years of exposure. The intensities of ELF-EMFs and noise were detected with EFA-300 Field Analyzer (Narda company, Pfullingen, Germany) and AWA5610D integrating sound level meter (Hangzhou Aihua Instruments Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China), respectively. Survey data were collected by questionnaire, and the physical check-up was done in hospital. All the data were input into SPSS17.0 software (SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA), and the appropriate statistic analyses were carried out.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intensity of EMFs in exposure group was significantly higher than that in control group (p < 0.05), while the noise in two workplaces showed no difference (p>0.05). The survey data collected by questionnaires showed that the symptoms of loss of hair in exposure group were significantly different as compared with that in control group (p < 0.05). The check-up parameters of cardiovascular, liver and hematology system showed significant differences between the two groups (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Survey and check-up data suggest that exposure to ELF-EMFs might have effects on the nervous, cardiovascular, liver, and hematology system of workers.
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics.
authors: Xin
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Longyu
authors: L
authors: Zhao
authors: Duo
authors: D
authors: Yu
authors: Shumei
authors: S
authors: Ma
authors: Xiaodong
authors: X
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001336:Automobiles; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000528:radiation effects; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006262:Health; D006405:Hematology; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008099:Liver / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010808:Physical Examination; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult