Purpose: This cohort study aims to examine cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risks among workers in occupations potentially exposed to magnetic fields (MF).
Methods: Risks for major CVD mortality by potential job-related MF exposure were examined in a sample of U.S. workers from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study using multivariate proportional hazards models.
Results: After adjustment for demographic factors, there were no significant excess risks between individuals with medium (0.15 to <0.20 microT), high (0.20 to < 0.30 microT), or very high (>/= 0.30 microT) exposure levels as compared with individuals with background exposure levels of MF (<0.15 microT) for the CVD mortality outcomes. Indirect adjustment for potential confounding by current smoking prevalence did not change the pattern of these results.
Conclusion: Our study does not provide evidence for an association between occupational MF exposure and CVD mortality risk.