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Occupational exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a prospective cohort.

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Koeman T, Slottje P, Schouten LJ, Peters S, Huss A, Veldink JH, Kromhout H, van den Brandt PA, Vermeulen R. · 2017

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Men with high workplace magnetic field exposure had double the ALS risk, strengthening evidence for ELF-MF's role in neurological disease.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers followed over 120,000 Dutch adults for 17 years to study whether workplace exposures increase the risk of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a fatal neurological disease. Men with high occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) had more than double the risk of dying from ALS compared to those with background exposure. This adds to growing evidence that ELF-MF exposure may contribute to this devastating disease that affects nerve cells controlling voluntary muscles.

Why This Matters

This prospective study strengthens the evidence linking ELF-MF exposure to ALS, one of the most serious neurological conditions. What makes this research particularly compelling is its design - following people forward in time rather than looking backward, which reduces bias. The doubling of ALS risk among men with high occupational ELF-MF exposure is significant, especially given ALS's devastating nature and lack of effective treatments.

The reality is that many occupations involve ELF-MF exposure levels far higher than what most people encounter at home from appliances and wiring. However, some common sources like living near power lines or working with electrical equipment can produce similar field strengths. While this study focused on occupational exposure, it adds to the body of evidence suggesting we should take ELF-MF exposure seriously, particularly for those with higher exposures through work or living situations.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

To prospectively study suspected occupational risk factors for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

For this case-cohort analysis within the prospective Netherlands Cohort Study, 58 279 men and 62 573...

Occupational exposure to ELF-MF showed a possible association with ALS mortality among men: HR for e...

These results strengthen the evidence suggesting a positive association between ELF-MF exposure and ALS. We did not replicate earlier positive findings for other occupational exposures.

Cite This Study
Koeman T, Slottje P, Schouten LJ, Peters S, Huss A, Veldink JH, Kromhout H, van den Brandt PA, Vermeulen R. (2017). Occupational exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a prospective cohort. Occup Environ Med. 2017 Mar 29. pii: oemed-2016-103780. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2016-103780.
Show BibTeX
@article{t_2017_occupational_exposure_and_amyotrophic_1753,
  author = {Koeman T and Slottje P and Schouten LJ and Peters S and Huss A and Veldink JH and Kromhout H and van den Brandt PA and Vermeulen R.},
  title = {Occupational exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a prospective cohort.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28356332/},
}
PubMed: 28356332

Cited By (53 papers)

View all 53 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

A large Dutch study following 120,000 adults for 17 years found that men with high occupational EMF exposure had more than double the risk of dying from ALS compared to those with background exposure levels.
Research suggests extremely low frequency magnetic fields may contribute to ALS, a disease that destroys motor neurons controlling voluntary muscles. Men with high workplace EMF exposure showed significantly increased ALS mortality risk.
Men with the highest occupational EMF exposure had a 93% increased risk of ALS mortality compared to background exposure. This adds to growing evidence linking electromagnetic fields to this fatal neurological disease.
A 17-year study of over 120,000 Dutch workers found that high occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields more than doubled men's risk of dying from ALS, a devastating neurological condition.
Research indicates that extremely low frequency magnetic fields may damage nerve cells that control voluntary muscles, leading to ALS. Men with high workplace EMF exposure showed significantly increased risk of this fatal disease.