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American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on July 27, 2006
American Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/aje/kwj247
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American Journal of Epidemiology Copyright © 2006 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health All rights reserved; printed in U.S.A.
Received November 29, 2005
Accepted March 7, 2006

Original Contribution

Occupational Exposure to Radio Frequency/Microwave Radiation and the Risk of Brain Tumors: Interphone Study Group, Germany

Gabriele Berg 1 *, Jacob Spallek 1, Joachim Schüz 2, Brigitte Schlehofer 3, Eva Böhler 4, Klaus Schlaefer 3, Iris Hettinger 3, Katharina Kunna-Grass 1, Jürgen Wahrendorf 3, and Maria Blettner 5

1 Department of Epidemiology and International Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
2 Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
3 Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
4 Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Institute for Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
5 Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Gabriele Berg, E-mail: gabriele.berg{at}uni-bielefeld.de


  Abstract

It is still under debate whether occupational exposure to radio frequency/microwave electromagnetic fields (RF/MW-EMF) contributes to the development of brain tumors. This analysis examined the role of occupational RF/MW-EMF exposure in the risk of glioma and meningioma. A population-based, case-control study including 381 meningioma cases, 366 glioma cases, and 1,494 controls aged 30-69 years was performed in three German regions in 2000-2003. An exposure matrix for occupational activity was constructed by using information on RF/MW-EMF exposure collected in a computer-assisted personal interview. "High" exposure was defined as an occupational exposure that may exceed the RF/MW-EMF exposure limits for the general public recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. Multiple conditional logistic regressions were performed separately for glioma and meningioma. No significant association between occupational exposure to RF/MW-EMF and brain tumors was found. For glioma, the adjusted odds ratio for highly exposed persons compared with persons not highly exposed was 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 0.69, 2.13); for meningioma, it was 1.34 (95% confidence interval: 0.64, 2.81). However, the slight increase in risk observed with increasing duration of exposure merits further research with larger sample sizes.

Keywords: brain neoplasms; case-control studies; electromagnetic fields; occupations; radiation.
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