Historical 'evidence' that electrification caused the 20th century epidemic of diseases of civilization and the ecological fallacy.

摘要

The hypothesis that electrification is the cause for increased rates of "diseases of civilization" since the early 1900s in the US has been put forward in an article recently published in this journal [1]. Although the author presented a very interesting hypothesis that, if true, could have an important impact on current society's relationship with electrical technology, his interpretation regarding causality of electrification as the main risk factor for increased population rates of cancers, diabetes, heart disease, suicide, and motor vehicle accidents is fraught with problems. Hereby, we would like to take the opportunity to address some of the more important ones.