Exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields during pregnancy and the risk of spontaneous abortion: a case-control study.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields is increasingly common, but the potential influence on pregnant women has not been thoroughly investigated.


METHODS
In this case-control study, 58 women who had an unexplained spontaneous abortion at < 14 weeks gestation and 58 matched pregnant women >14 weeks gestation were enrolled in 2012. The women completed the questionnaire, which was used to collect data about socioeconomic and obstetric characteristics, medical and reproductive histories. Then, to evaluate the extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields , we determined the magnitude of electromagnetic fields in the participants' houses by an exposure level tester (3D EMF tester/ Model: ELF-828; Taiwan).The instrument covers a limited frequency range (30 HZ to 3 KHZ).


RESULTS
The magnitude of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields in the participants' houses was significantly different between the two groups (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields exposure is probably related to early spontaneous abortions.
['Shamsi Mahmoudabadi|Fatemeh|F|', 'Ziaei|Saeideh|S|', 'Firoozabadi|Mohammad|M|', 'Kazemnejad|Anoshirvan|A|']
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D016022:Case-Control Studies D004574:Electromagnetic Fields D004781:Environmental Exposure D005260:Female D005865:Gestational Age D006801:Humans D011247:Pregnancy D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field Pregnancy Spontaneous abortions