Association between parental occupational exposure to ELF magnetic fields and childhood nervous system tumors risk: A meta-analysis

2018 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 2045

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typemeta_analysis

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Association between parental occupational exposure to ELF magnetic fields and childhood nervous system tumors risk: A meta-analysis Su L, Zhao C, Jin Y, Lei Y, Lu L, Chen G. Association between parental occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields and childhood nervous system tumors risk: A meta-analysis. Sci Total Environ. 2018 Nov 15;642:1406-1414. Highlights • A meta-analysis identified 22 studies on parental occupational ELF-MF exposure and risk of childhood nervous system tumors. • Parental occupational ELF-MF exposure was associated with increased risk of childhood CNS tumors but not neuroblastoma. • Maternal but not paternal occupational ELF-MF exposure significantly increased risk of childhood CNS tumors. Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Previous epidemiological studies suggested association between parental occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) and risk of childhood nervous system tumors, but the results were inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies to re-evaluate this association. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed and Web of Science databases as well as by manual searching. Summary odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were pooled with a fixed-effects or random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 22 eligible articles (21 case-control studies and 1 cohort study) were included for the quantitative analysis. The results showed that parental occupational ELF-MF exposure was significantly associated with an increased risk of childhood nervous system tumors (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.02-1.21), and this association remained in studies on central nervous system (CNS) tumors (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.02-1.27) but not neuroblastoma (OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.92-1.14). Furthermore, maternal (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.05-1.23) but not paternal (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.98-1.13) occupational ELF-MF exposure significantly increased risk of childhood nervous system tumors. Increased risk of childhood CNS tumors was significant associated with maternal (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.06-1.26) but not paternal (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 0.98-1.34) occupational ELF-MF exposure. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our results provide limited evidence for the association between maternal occupational exposure to ELF-MF and increased risk of childhood CNS tumors, which should be explained with cautions. Future studies are needed to further evaluate the association of paternal occupational ELF-MF exposure with risk of childhood CNS tumors. 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 nervous system tumors) with parental occupational exposure assessment (maternal/paternal)

Sample size22

ExposureELF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 86% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Meta-analysis of 22 studies found parental occupational ELF magnetic field exposure was associated with increased risk of childhood nervous system tumors (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.21) and CNS tumors (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02–1.27), but not neuroblastoma (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.92–1.14). Maternal exposure showed significant increased risk (e.g., nervous system tumors OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.05–1.23; CNS tumors OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.06–1.26), while paternal exposure was not significant.

Outcomes measured

Childhood nervous system tumors
Childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumors
Neuroblastoma

Limitations

Included studies had inconsistent results (noted by authors)
Evidence described as limited and conclusions should be interpreted with caution
Predominantly case-control evidence base (21 case-control, 1 cohort)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "meta_analysis",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": "occupational",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Children (childhood nervous system tumors) with parental occupational exposure assessment (maternal/paternal)",
  "sample_size": 22,
  "outcomes": [
    "Childhood nervous system tumors",
    "Childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumors",
    "Neuroblastoma"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Meta-analysis of 22 studies found parental occupational ELF magnetic field exposure was associated with increased risk of childhood nervous system tumors (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.21) and CNS tumors (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02–1.27), but not neuroblastoma (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.92–1.14). Maternal exposure showed significant increased risk (e.g., nervous system tumors OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.05–1.23; CNS tumors OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.06–1.26), while paternal exposure was not significant.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Included studies had inconsistent results (noted by authors)",
    "Evidence described as limited and conclusions should be interpreted with caution",
    "Predominantly case-control evidence base (21 case-control, 1 cohort)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.86,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low frequency",
    "ELF-MF",
    "occupational exposure",
    "parental exposure",
    "maternal exposure",
    "paternal exposure",
    "childhood cancer",
    "nervous system tumors",
    "CNS tumors",
    "neuroblastoma",
    "meta-analysis"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Focuses on parental occupational exposure to ELF magnetic fields."
    }
  ]
}

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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: Not supplied
PubMed: Not supplied

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