title: Occupational exposure to magnetic fields and electric shocks and risk of ALS: the Swiss National Cohort.
abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been associated with exposures in so-called 'electrical occupations'. It is unclear if this possible link may be explained by exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) or by electrical shocks. We evaluated ALS mortality in 2000-2008 and exposure to ELF-MF and electrical shocks in the Swiss National Cohort, using job exposure matrices for occupations at censuses 1990 and 2000. We compared 2.2 million workers with high or medium vs. low exposure to ELF-MF and electrical shocks using Cox proportional hazard models. Results showed that mortality from ALS was higher in people who had medium or high ELF-MF exposure in both censuses (HR 1.55 (95% CI 1.11-2.15)), but closer to unity for electrical shocks (HR 1.17 (95% CI 0.83-1.65)). When both exposures were included in the same model, the HR for ELF-MF changed little (HR 1.56), but the HR for electric shocks was attenuated to 0.97. In conclusion, there was an association between exposure to ELF-MF and mortality from ALS among workers with a higher likelihood of long-term exposure.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huss
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spoerri
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egger
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kromhout
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D004597:Electroshock / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D060526:Magnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; electric shocks; magnetic fields; occupational exposure