PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO 50 HZ MAGNETIC-FIELDS INHUMANS LIVING NEAR EXTRA-HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION-LINES

The validity of several published investigations of the possibility th at residential exposures to 50 Hz or 60 Hz electromagnetic fields migh t cause adverse psychological effects, such as suicide and depression, may have been limited by inadequate controlling for confounders or in adequate measurement of exposures. We investigated the relationships b etween magnetic field exposure and psychological and mental health var iables while controlling for potential confounders and careful charact erising individual magnetic field exposures. Five-hundred-and-forty ad ults living near transmission lines completed neuropsychological tests in major domains of memory and attentional functioning, mental health rating scales and other questionnaires. Magnetic field measurements w ere taken in each room occupied for at least one hour per day to provi de an estimate of total-time-integrated exposure. The data were subjec ted to joint multivariate multiple regression analysis to test for a l inear relation between field exposure and dependent variables, while c ontrolling for effects of possible confounders. Performance on most me mory and attention measures was unrelated to exposure, but significant linear dose-response relationships were found between exposure and so me psychological and mental health variables. In particular, higher ti me-integrated exposure was associated with poorer coding-test performa nce and more adverse psychiatric symptomatology. These associations we re found to be independent of participants' beliefs about effects of e lectromagnetic fields. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.