Changes over time in the reported risk for childhood leukemia and magnetic fields

2019 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1914

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typemeta_analysis

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Changes over time in the reported risk for childhood leukemia and magnetic fields Swanson J, Kheifets LI, Vergara X. Changes over time in the reported risk for childhood leukaemia and magnetic fields. J Radiol Prot. 2019 Feb 8. doi: 10.1088/1361-6498/ab0586. Abstract There have been many studies from 1979 to the present reporting raised risks for childhood leukaemia with exposure to power-frequency magnetic fields. There are also suggestions that the reported risk has been decreasing. We examine trends in the risk over time from all available studies. For 41 studies, we combine reported risks using inverse-variance weighting, drawing risk estimates from previous pooled analyses where possible for greater consistency. We examine the cumulative risk for studies published up to each successive calendar year for all studies and for various subsets, and test for a trend over the period. The cumulative relative risk has indeed declined, for our most rigorous analysis from a maximum 2.44 in 1997 to 1.58 in 2017, but not statistically significantly when tested as a linear trend. We find suggestions of higher risks in studies looking at higher exposures and in studies with better quality exposure assessment. We conclude that there is a decline in reported risk from the mid-1990s to now, which is unlikely to be solely explained by improving study quality but may be due to chance, and an elevated risk remains. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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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 typemeta_analysis

Effect directionmixed

Populationchildren (childhood leukemia)

Sample size41

ExposureELF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Inverse-variance weighted combination of reported risks from 41 studies found the cumulative relative risk declined over time (in the most rigorous analysis from 2.44 in 1997 to 1.58 in 2017), but the linear trend test was not statistically significant. The authors report suggestions of higher risks in studies with higher exposures and in studies with better quality exposure assessment, and conclude an elevated risk remains.

Outcomes measured

childhood leukemia risk
relative risk trends over time

Limitations

Trend over time not statistically significant when tested as a linear trend
Risk estimates drawn from previous pooled analyses where possible (dependence on prior analyses)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "meta_analysis",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": "power-frequency magnetic fields",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "children (childhood leukemia)",
  "sample_size": 41,
  "outcomes": [
    "childhood leukemia risk",
    "relative risk trends over time"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Inverse-variance weighted combination of reported risks from 41 studies found the cumulative relative risk declined over time (in the most rigorous analysis from 2.44 in 1997 to 1.58 in 2017), but the linear trend test was not statistically significant. The authors report suggestions of higher risks in studies with higher exposures and in studies with better quality exposure assessment, and conclude an elevated risk remains.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Trend over time not statistically significant when tested as a linear trend",
    "Risk estimates drawn from previous pooled analyses where possible (dependence on prior analyses)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "childhood leukemia",
    "power-frequency",
    "magnetic fields",
    "ELF",
    "meta-analysis",
    "inverse-variance weighting",
    "time trends",
    "exposure assessment"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.55,
      "reason": "Addresses health risk evidence for ELF magnetic fields and childhood leukemia, a topic commonly evaluated in major guideline reviews."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1088/1361-6498/ab0586
PubMed: Not supplied

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