BRAIN CANCER AMONG AGRICULTURAL WORKERS FROM RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL: A DEATH CERTIFICATE-BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Recent publications renewed interest in assessing potential health risks for subjects living close to transmission lines. This study aimed at evaluating the association of both distance of home address to the nearest overhead transmission line and of the calculated magnetic fields from the power lines and mortality from leukemia, brain cancer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We carried out a death certificate based case-control study accessing adult mortality in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, in Brazil. Analysis included 1,857 cases of leukemia, 2,357 of brain cancer, 367 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and 4,706 as controls. An increased risk for mortality from leukemia among adults living at closer distances to transmission lines compared to those living further then 400 m was found. Risk was higher for subjects that lived within 50 m from power lines (OR=1.47; 95% CI=0.99-2.18). Similarly, a small increase in leukemia mortality was observed among adults living in houses with higher calculated magnetic fields (OR=1.61; 95% CI=0.91-2.86 for those exposed to magnetic fields >0.3 µT). No increase was seen for brain tumours or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Our findings are suggestive of a higher risk for leukemia among subjects living closer to transmission lines, and for those living at homes with higher calculated magnetic fields, although the risk was limited to lower voltage lines.

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Potential risk factors for multiple sclerosis in Rio de Janeiro: a case-control study

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/s0004-282x2009000200011 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 67 (2a) ◽

pp. 229-234 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Kátia Regina Penha da Silva ◽

Regina Maria Papais Alvarenga ◽

Oscar Fernandez y Fernandez ◽

Hélcio Alvarenga ◽

Luiz Claudio Santos Thuler

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Potential Risk ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Conditional Logistic Regression ◽

Case Control ◽

Potential Risk Factors ◽

Epidemiological Characteristics ◽

Control Study

PURPOSE: To evaluate potential risk factors for the development of multiple sclerosis in Brazilian patients. METHOD: A case control study was carried out in 81 patients enrolled at the Department of Neurology of the Hospital da Lagoa in Rio de Janeiro, and 81 paired controls. A standardized questionnaire on demographic, social and cultural variables, and medical and family history was used. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and conditional logistic regression models with the SPSS for Windows software program. RESULTS: Having standard vaccinations (vaccinations specified by the Brazilian government) (OR=16.2; 95% CI=2.3-115.2), smoking (OR=7.6; 95% CI=2.1-28.2), being single (OR=4.7; 95% CI=1.4-15.6) and eating animal brain (OR=3.4; 95% CI=1.2-9.8) increased the risk of developing MS. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS of this study may contribute towards better awareness of the epidemiological characteristics of Brazilian patients with multiple sclerosis.

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