DNA damage from long-term occupational exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields among power plant workers

2019 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1682

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

DNA damage from long-term occupational exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields among power plant workers Bagheri Hosseinabadi M, Khanjani N, Mirzaii M, Norouzi P, Atashi A. DNA damage from long-term occupational exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields among power plant workers.Mutat Res. 2019 Oct;846:403079. doi: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2019.07.007. Abstract Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) are not known as definite occupational carcinogens, but some studies have reported the genotoxic effects of these fields on cell lines. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term occupational exposure to these fields on DNA damage. In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were taken from 102 thermal power plant workers as the exposure group and 136 subjects as the unexposed group. DNA damage was evaluated using alkaline comet assay and flow cytometry. Exposure to ELF-EMFs was measured based on spot measurements and the IEEE Std C95.3.1 standard. The indices of comet assay, tail DNA percent, tail factor (%), and damage index were significantly higher in the exposed group compared to the unexposed group. Increased exposure to magnetic fields enhanced comet assay indices, except tail length; while exposure to electric fields had no significant effect on such indices. The percentage of cells at early apoptosis and late apoptosis phases caused by exposure to magnetic fields, respectively, decreased and increased significantly. Long-term occupational exposure to ELF-EMFs can probably cause genotoxic effects. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional

Effect directionmixed

PopulationThermal power plant workers (exposed) and unexposed subjects

Sample size238

ExposureELF · long-term occupational exposure

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In a cross-sectional comparison, comet assay indices (tail DNA percent, tail factor (%), and damage index) were significantly higher in the exposed workers than in the unexposed group. Increased magnetic-field exposure was associated with higher comet assay indices except tail length, while electric-field exposure showed no significant effect on these indices. Early apoptosis percentage decreased and late apoptosis percentage increased significantly with magnetic-field exposure.

Outcomes measured

DNA damage (alkaline comet assay indices: tail DNA percent, tail factor (%), damage index, tail length)
Apoptosis (flow cytometry: early apoptosis, late apoptosis)
Association of electric-field exposure with comet assay indices
Association of magnetic-field exposure with comet assay indices and apoptosis phases

Limitations

Cross-sectional design (cannot establish causality)
Exposure assessment based on spot measurements (may not reflect long-term personal exposure)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": "occupational",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "long-term occupational exposure"
  },
  "population": "Thermal power plant workers (exposed) and unexposed subjects",
  "sample_size": 238,
  "outcomes": [
    "DNA damage (alkaline comet assay indices: tail DNA percent, tail factor (%), damage index, tail length)",
    "Apoptosis (flow cytometry: early apoptosis, late apoptosis)",
    "Association of electric-field exposure with comet assay indices",
    "Association of magnetic-field exposure with comet assay indices and apoptosis phases"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In a cross-sectional comparison, comet assay indices (tail DNA percent, tail factor (%), and damage index) were significantly higher in the exposed workers than in the unexposed group. Increased magnetic-field exposure was associated with higher comet assay indices except tail length, while electric-field exposure showed no significant effect on these indices. Early apoptosis percentage decreased and late apoptosis percentage increased significantly with magnetic-field exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Cross-sectional design (cannot establish causality)",
    "Exposure assessment based on spot measurements (may not reflect long-term personal exposure)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields",
    "ELF-EMF",
    "occupational exposure",
    "power plant workers",
    "magnetic fields",
    "electric fields",
    "DNA damage",
    "genotoxicity",
    "comet assay",
    "flow cytometry",
    "apoptosis",
    "IEEE Std C95.3.1"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.95,
      "reason": "Study evaluates long-term occupational ELF-EMF exposure among thermal power plant workers."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2019.07.007
PubMed: Not supplied

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