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American scientists have uncovered a high rate of
suicide among electric utility workers and suspect this is linked to electromagnetic
fields and their possible effect on the brain chemical melatonin.
Researchers at the University
of North Carolina think the electromagnetic fields may decrease levels
of melatonin and that this may cause depression and suicide. Melatonin
is linked to a variety of functions in the body including sleep, hunger,
sexual desire and mood. The researchers compared
levels of exposure to magnetic fields and the rate of suicide among more
than 5,000 electrical workers and an equal number of other men.
The number of suicides among the electrical workers
was twice as high as in the control group.The
results of this study provide evidence for an association between cumulative
exposure of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields and suicide,
especially among young workers.
Younger workers who had the highest exposure rates,
particularly in the year before they died, had the highest rate of suicide.
The team said the finding suggests younger workers may be more vulnerable
to the effects of exposure. The researchers
hypothesize that an increased vulnerability at younger ages may be based
on a change in the nature of depression with age, with suicide more closely
linked to depression among younger workers.
Journal
of Occupational and Environmental Medicine March 15, 2000
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