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