Health effects of environmental exposure to electromagnetic fields in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy

Objective: Environmental exposure to electromagnetic fields has been suggested to increase the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, particularly in children, amyotrophiclateral sclerosis and birth defects. We aimed at analyzing the risk of these diseases in a population residing near highvoltagepower lines.Material and methods: We identified all cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and birth defects diagnosed between 1986 and 2005, from 1996 to 2005 and from 1998 to 2005, respectively, in the population of Reggio Emilia, northern Italy (around 140,000 inhabitants).We then examined the life-time residential history of thesepatients (or their mothers for congenital anomalies), as well as of age- and sex-matched population controls, to analyze whether prior residence near 4 power lines in the western part of the municipal territory, where electromagnetic fields exposure renged from 0.1 to over 0.5 μT. Results: Residence in the exposed area did notassociated with excess risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and of birth defects in the offspring.Conclusions: We were unable to identify adverse health effects ofelectromagnetic fields exposure in this population. Further research in a larger population exposed to electromagnetic fields is currently in progress.