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Preterm birth among women living within 600 meters of high voltage overhead Power Lines: a case-control study

2017 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 2272

In this nested case-control study, 20/135 cases and 8/150 controls lived within 600 m of high-voltage power lines. Living <600 m from high-voltage power lines was associated with higher adjusted odds of spontaneous preterm birth (OR=3.28, 95% CI 1.37–7.85) an…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017
Study typecase_control
Reported directionHarm
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

- Preterm birth among women living within 600 meters of high voltage overhead Power Lines: a case-control study Sadeghi T, Ahmadi A, Javadian M, Gholamian SA, Delavar MA, Esmailzadeh S, Ahmadi B, Hadighi MSH. Preterm birth among women living within 600 meters of high voltage overhead Power Lines: a case-control study. Rom J Intern Med. 2017 Apr 18. Abstract AIM: The issue of preterm birth due to exposure to magnetic fields from power lines is unclear. Exposure to electromagnetic field in uterus has been hypothesized as possible preterm birth. The aim of the present study was to determine whether living closer to high voltage power lines increased the risk of preterm labor. METHODS: In a nested case-control study, 135 cases of singleton live spontaneous preterm birth in Rohani hospital, Babol, Iran, during the period between 2013 and 2014 were studied. The 150 control subjects were singleton term live birth in the same year of birth and city of residence using randomized-digit dialing. The shortest distance to any of the high voltage power lines to the maternal residence during pregnancy was measured using ArcGIS software for every case and control. To test the association between the preterm births and the residential proximity to power lines, stepwise multiple logistic regression was used. RESULTS: There were 28 households, 20 cases (14.8%) and 8 controls (5.3%) were situated within 600 meters of a high voltage power lines. The adjusted OR for spontaneous preterm birth and birth defect in women who were living in less than 600 meters from high voltage power lines was higher compared to those living in farther distance (OR=3.28, CI: 1.37 to 7.85) and (OR=5.05, CI: 1.52 to 16.78), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, installing overhead power lines and stations within 600 meters or making overhead underground would be useful in the prevention of the both preterm birth and birth defect. 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 typecase_control
Effect directionharm
PopulationWomen with singleton live births in Rohani hospital, Babol, Iran (2013–2014)
Sample size285
ExposureELF · during pregnancy (residential proximity measured for maternal residence)
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In this nested case-control study, 20/135 cases and 8/150 controls lived within 600 m of high-voltage power lines. Living <600 m from high-voltage power lines was associated with higher adjusted odds of spontaneous preterm birth (OR=3.28, 95% CI 1.37–7.85) and birth defect (OR=5.05, 95% CI 1.52–16.78) compared with living farther away.

Outcomes measured

  • spontaneous preterm birth
  • birth defect

Limitations

  • Exposure was assessed by residential distance to power lines rather than direct magnetic-field measurements
  • Potential residual confounding is not described in the abstract
  • Case-control design cannot establish causality
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "case_control",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": "high voltage overhead power lines",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "during pregnancy (residential proximity measured for maternal residence)"
  },
  "population": "Women with singleton live births in Rohani hospital, Babol, Iran (2013–2014)",
  "sample_size": 285,
  "outcomes": [
    "spontaneous preterm birth",
    "birth defect"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In this nested case-control study, 20/135 cases and 8/150 controls lived within 600 m of high-voltage power lines. Living <600 m from high-voltage power lines was associated with higher adjusted odds of spontaneous preterm birth (OR=3.28, 95% CI 1.37–7.85) and birth defect (OR=5.05, 95% CI 1.52–16.78) compared with living farther away.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure was assessed by residential distance to power lines rather than direct magnetic-field measurements",
    "Potential residual confounding is not described in the abstract",
    "Case-control design cannot establish causality"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "preterm birth",
    "spontaneous preterm birth",
    "birth defect",
    "pregnancy",
    "residential proximity",
    "high voltage power lines",
    "magnetic fields",
    "electromagnetic field",
    "ArcGIS",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    }
  ]
}
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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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