Is occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields associated with glioma risk? An Australian population-based family case–control study

TL;DR

This study found no significant link between occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and the risk of developing glioma in an Australian population.

Contribution

The study provides new evidence from an Australian population-based family case–control design on RF EMF and glioma risk.

Findings

No statistically significant association was found between RF EMF exposure and glioma risk using two job-exposure matrices.

Results showed odds ratios close to 1 for the highest versus lowest exposure quartiles, indicating no increased risk.

No associations were observed with glioma grade or under different exposure assumptions.

Abstract

This study investigated occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) using two job-exposure matrices (JEMs) and risk of glioma.

Population-based family case–control study.

Cases were recruited from participating hospitals in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria between January 2013 and November 2017.

The study population consisted of 467 cases of glioma and 367 family controls recruited for the Australian Genomics and Clinical Outcomes of Glioma case–control study between 2013 and 2017. Participants completed questionnaires on demographic and other information, including a detailed occupational history.

Exposure to RF EMF was estimated using both the multicountry case–control study INTEROCC JEM and the Canadian JEM (CANJEM).

ORs and 95% CIs were calculated from logistic regression models adjusted for relatedness between cases and controls, sex, age, ethnicity, education level, smoking status and alcohol consumption.

There was no statistically significant positive association overall for risk of glioma when applying either JEM. For the highest compared with the lowest quartile of lifetime exposure, results using the INTEROCC JEM showed an OR of 0.74 (95% CI 0.47 to 1.15) for electric fields and 0.92 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.45) for magnetic fields, while the CANJEM showed an OR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.54 to 1.32). We also did not observe associations when applying different assumptions regarding latency or time windows or with glioma grade.

Overall, this study found no evidence of an association between occupational RF EMF exposure and glioma. Future research should focus on refining occupational RF EMF exposure assessment.

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