Early pregnancy loss and exposure to 50-Hz magnetic fields

Abstract

The possibility of an association of early pregnancy loss (EPL) with residential exposure to ELF magnetic fields was investigated in a case-control study. Eighty-nine cases and 102 controls were obtained from the data of an earlier study aimed at investigating the occurrence of EPL in a group of women attempting to get pregnant. Magnetic-field exposure was characterized by measurements in residences. Strong magnetic fields were measured more often in case than in control residences. In an analysis based on fields measured at the front door, a cutoff score of 0.5 A/m (0.63 microT) resulted in an odds ratio of 5.1 (95% confidence interval 1.0-25). The results should be interpreted cautiously due to the small number of highly exposed subjects and other limitations of the data.