Epidemiologische Untersuchungen zur Assoziation von Hodenkrebs und elektromagnetischen Feldern

Abstract

In a population-based case-control-study we examined the association of testicular cancer and exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). The multicenter-study included 269 cases, newly diagnosed between 1995 and 1997, and 797 controls, randomly selected from mandatory registries of residents. Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated, stratified by age and region, and weighted by intensity, duration and distance using conditional logistic regression. Additionally, in Hamburg residential exposure to high voltage power-lines was analyzed. The analysis included 145 cases and 313 controls. The simplest exposure model took into account whether cases and controls had ever lived within the distance of 250 meters near a high voltage power-line. ORs and 95%CI were calculated using unconditional logistic regression. According to self-reports the OR for jobs near radar units is 1.0 (95%CI=0.60;1.75), near electrical machines 1.0 (95%CI=0.72;1.33), radiofrequency radiation devices 0.9 (95%CI=0.60;1.24), high voltage power-lines 0.7 (95%CI=0.38;1.18), and visual display units 0.9 (95%CI=0.67;1.21). Weighting the exposure leads only to marginal changes in the risk estimates. The OR for residential exposure to high voltage power-lines in Hamburg is 1.5 (95%CI=0.89;2.43). In all, EMF exposure does not seem to be a relevant risk factor for testicular cancer in our study.