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 Northern Sweden. From a questionnaire study among 5986 office workers, 75 VDT workers with self-reported facial skin symptoms and the same number of referents were selected for this study. The environmental electric and magnetic fields in the office as well as electromagnetic fields associated with the VDT at the workplace were measured, The aim of this part of the project was to explore the role of the measured electromagnetic parameters in relation to skin symptoms. For most of the measured parameters there was no difference between cases and referents. However, more cases than referents were found in the highest exposure 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).

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Occupational Health and Environmental Health (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

VDT-workers

skin symptoms

electric

magnetic fields

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)