Posted on Mar 31, 2021 Mar 31, 2021

The Journal Bioelectromagnetics has published a feasibility study conducted by the Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI) of the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg‐University in Mainz, Germany and femu entitled: “Occupational Exposure to Extremely Low‐Frequency Magnetic Fields and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Results of a Feasibility Study for a Pooled Analysis of Original Data”. Previous meta‐analyses have suggested an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with occupational exposure to extremely low‐frequency magnetic fields (ELF‐MF). However, since studies were methodologically heterogeneous, the feasibility of a pooling study to harmonize and re‐analyze available original data was investigated in this study. A relative risk of ≥1.14 for ALS and occupational exposure to ELF‐MF could be detected with a power of more than 80% in a pooled study. The pooling of original data was therefore recommended and could contribute to a better understanding of ELF‐MF in the etiology of ALS.

The article can be found on the Bioelectromagnetics homepage.