Am J Epidemiol 2002; 156:262-267.
Copyright © 2002 by the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Endometrial Cancer Incidence in Relation to Electric Blanket Use
1 University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, WI.
2 Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
3 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.
4 Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
Endometrial cancer is associated with endogenous and exogenous estrogen excess. Some investigators have posited that electromagnetic fields may influence cancer risk through estrogenic hormonal mechanisms; however, there have been no studies reporting on electric blanket exposure in relation to endometrial cancer. The authors examined this possible association between endometrial cancer risk and electric blanket or mattress cover use as part of a population-based, case-control study. This analysis included incident endometrial cancer cases 4079 years of age, interviewed during 1994 (n = 148; response rate, 87%) and identified from the Wisconsin tumor registry. Female controls of similar age were randomly selected from population lists (n = 659; response rate, 85%). Information regarding electric blanket and mattress cover use and endometrial cancer risk factors was obtained through structured telephone interviews approximately 1 year after diagnosis. After adjustment for age, body mass index, and postmenopausal hormone use, the risk of endometrial cancer was similar among ever users (odds ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.70, 1.55) and among current users (odds ratio = 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.49, 1.54) as compared with never users. Despite its small size and potential misclassification of exposure, this study provides evidence against an association between electric blanket or mattress cover use and endometrial cancer. Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:2627.
case-control studies; electromagnetic fields; endometrial neoplasms
Abbreviations: Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.