SKIN SYMPTOMS AMONG VDT WORKERS AND ELECTROMAGNETIC-FIELDS - A CASE-REFERENT STUDY

Th is case referent study is a part of the Office illness Project in N orthern Sweden. From a questionnaire study among 5986 office workers, 75 VDT workers with self-reported facial skin symptoms and the same nu mber of referents were selected for this study. The environmental elec tric and magnetic fields in the office as well as electromagnetic fiel ds associated with the VDT at tile workplace were measured, The aim of this part of the project was to explore the role of the measured elec tromagnetic parameters in relation to skin symptoms. For most of the m easured parameters there was no difference between cases and referents . However, more cases than referents were found in the highest exposur e group for two of the measured parameters. Fm the background electric field in the mom the relative risk in terms of crude odds ratio (OR) was 3.0 (95% CI: 1.2-7.2) for the high exposed group (greater than or equal to 31 V/m) compared with the lowest group (less than or equal to 10 V/m). The same comparison for the magnetic field in the ELF-range (greater than or equal to 0.30 mu T vs less than or equal to 0.145 mu T) in front of the VDT gave an OR of 2.7(95% CI: 1.0-6.9).