A comment on some epidemiologic papers related to cancer and magnetic fields of power lines

摘要

Many epidemiologic papers on the relation between cancer and magnetic fields of power lines have been published. This paper presents a new interpretation of them. Some public panels that reviewed these papers stated that there is no conclusive evidence to show that magnetic fields cause cancer. Others stated that magnetic fields are carcinogenic. The difference between the conclusions of the panels is from discrepancies in interpreting the same papers. The author examined the reasoning of some epidemiologic papers from their premise to the conclusion and found that in a Swedish paper (Karolinska Inst.) there was a logical contradiction and in a Nordic pooled paper pooling data of a Danish, a Finnish and the Swedish studies there was a logical fallacy. Therefore, the author could not accept that their hypothesis "there is an association between power-line magnetic fields and childhood leukemia" was verified.