Jones T L, Shih C H, Thurston D H, Ware B J, Cole P
Electrical Research Service, American Electric Power Service Corporation, Columbus, OH 43215.
J Clin Epidemiol. 1993 Jun;46(6):545-8. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(93)90127-m.
Several studies of childhood cancer, especially leukemia, in residential areas have reported an association with wire configuration codes. These codes were suggested to be surrogates of electromagnetic field exposure. However, the selection criteria used in several of the studies caused the case and control populations to be non-comparable, especially with respect to residential mobility. Specifically, controls were required to be residentially stable but cases were not. Thus, an artificial association between residential mobility and cancer was created by the subject selection procedure. The present study of 5721 residences in Columbus, Ohio was conducted to learn if bias due to differences in residential mobility, rather than electromagnetic fields, could explain the reported association between wire configuration codes and childhood cancer. It was found that the proportion of homes classified as "high" wire code in the non-stable population was 31% greater than the corresponding proportion in the stable population. This finding shows that high wire codes are associated with homes in which the residents are mobile and low wire codes are associated with homes occupied by stable residents. Thus, as a consequence of this association between residential mobility and high wire codes, studies that created an artificial association between residential mobility and childhood cancer will also produce a false association between high wire codes and cancer.
几项针对居民区儿童癌症，尤其是白血病的研究报告了其与电线配置代码之间的关联。这些代码被认为是电磁场暴露的替代指标。然而，其中几项研究中使用的选择标准导致病例组和对照组人群不可比，尤其是在居住流动性方面。具体而言，要求对照组居民居住稳定，但病例组则无此要求。因此，通过受试者选择程序产生了居住流动性与癌症之间的人为关联。本研究对俄亥俄州哥伦布市的5721处住宅进行了调查，以了解是否是由于居住流动性差异而非电磁场导致的偏差，能够解释所报告的电线配置代码与儿童癌症之间的关联。研究发现，在居住不稳定人群中被归类为“高”电线代码的房屋比例比居住稳定人群中的相应比例高31%。这一发现表明，高电线代码与居民流动的房屋相关，而低电线代码与居住稳定的居民所居住的房屋相关。因此，由于居住流动性与高电线代码之间的这种关联，那些在居住流动性与儿童癌症之间制造人为关联的研究，也会在高电线代码与癌症之间产生虚假关联。
