Living near Power Lines Doesn't Increase Leukemia Risk in Children

Children living near power lines don't have an increased risk of leukemia than other children, according to a new study from University of Oxford.

Leukemia is the most common type of cancer affecting children. Previous research has shown that there is some association between proximity of overhead power lines and cancer risk in children. Cancer.org and National Cancer Institute say that there is insufficient data linking the two.

The present study was based on data from National Registry of Childhood Tumors. The registery has kept records of almost all children diagnosed with cancers since 1962. Researchers looked at information from 16,500 children who were diagnosed with leukemia in Britain 1962 and 2008.

A related study had earlier found that, children living within 600 metres of overhead power lines had increased odds of developing leukemia. That study was based on data obtained between 1962 and 1995.

The latest study, however, found no association between overhead power lines and leukemia risk.

"It's very encouraging to see that in recent decades there has been no increased risk of leukaemia among children born near overhead power lines," said Kathryn Bunch, lead author of the study. 'More research is needed to determine precisely why previous evidence suggested a risk prior to 1980, but parents can be reassured from the findings of this study that overhead power lines don't increase their child's risk of leukaemia."

"There has been a lot of concern that overhead power lines could increase the risk of cancer, particularly leukaemia, in children," said Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK's head of health information, according to a news release. This study is reassuring for anxious parents, as it indicates that overhead power lines don't cause leukaemia or other cancers in children."

The study is published in the journal British Journal of Cancer.