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Several studies have reported on the possible association between the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and employment in the electrical industry, which may be related to extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure or the risk of experiencing an electric shock, although no direct association has been proven.1 Three previous studies reported on ALS risk related to living near power lines, an important source of ELF-EMF exposure for the general population.2–4 These studies reported a null finding but had some shortcomings as they were based on registry data and had no detailed clinical data available. We therefore performed a large population-based case-control study with detailed phenotypic data to assess the relation between residential exposure to ELF-EMF from power lines and the risk of ALS.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgment: The authors thank Petra Berk, PhD (University Medical Center Utrecht), Hermieneke Vergunst (University Medical Center Utrecht), and Dorien Standaar (Amsterdam Medical Center) for technical assistance; all neurologists, consultants in rehabilitation medicine, and other health care providers for enrolling patients with ALS; and the patients with ALS and controls.
Footnotes
↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Supplemental data at Neurology.org
Author contributions: Meinie Seelen: drafting the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, study concept or design, analysis or interpretation of data, acquisition of data, statistical analysis. Roel C.H. Vermeulen: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, study concept or design, acquisition of data. Levien S. van Dillen: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, acquisition of data, statistical analysis. Anneke J. van der Kooi: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, study concept or design, acquisition of data. Anke Huss: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, acquisition of data. Marianne de Visser: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, study concept or design, acquisition of data. Leonard H. van den Berg: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, study concept or design, analysis or interpretation of data, study supervision or coordination, obtaining funding. Jan H. Veldink: revising the manuscript for content, including medical writing for content, study concept or design, analysis or interpretation of data, statistical analysis, study supervision or coordination.
Study funding: Supported by the Prinses Beatrix Fonds (PB 0703), VSB fonds, H. Kersten and M. Kersten (Kersten Foundation), The Netherlands ALS Foundation, and J.R. van Dijk and the Adessium Foundation. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Health Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement 259867. R.C.H. Vermeulen and A. Huss were supported by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research (ZonMW) within the program Electromagnetic Fields and Health Research under grant numbers 85200001 and 85800001.
Disclosure: M. Seelen, R. Vermeulen, L. van Dillen, A. van der Kooi, A. Huss, and M. de Visser report no disclosures relevant to the manuscript. L. van den Berg received travel grants and consultancy fees from Baxter and serves on the advisory board for Biogen, Cytokinetics. J. Veldink received travel grants from Baxter. Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures.
- Received January 20, 2014.
- Accepted in final form May 23, 2014.
- © 2014 American Academy of Neurology
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